Memory & a Message
by atheistbasementdragon
Summary: A 'God Rising' compilation and retrospective, updated as the main story unfolds to show how the world is responding to events at large.
1. Pity the Poor Emperor

Jircniv sighed. He did that a lot, but never more than when a communication from Ainz Ooal Gown came to him, it always made his heart race and his brow sweat...he could never predict the monster he now served and had given up trying.

Being candid with himself...his rule had become easier since he could direct objections to be presented to the monster himself...and almost without exception, resistence melted away.

He paused before breaking the seal of the message that had just been delivered to him, and remembered a rare time when resistence had NOT melted away. A noble had objected to a tax that was being levied on goods of his region that would help to pay an annual tribute to the Sorcerer Kingdom...

'I object your majesty,' Count Yvas said firmly, 'the goods my lands produce generate very little profit, the work of my artisans, who produce hand crafted jewelry of the highest quality, may be very valuable...but the cost of importing the raw materials and the taxes on those and the cost of transporting the results to such distant places for sale to the few who can afford them...eats up most of the revenue. If you levy this tax, you will destroy my estate.'

Jircniv leaned forward and put his chin on his fist, and said, 'The tribute must be paid, all others have made concessions of some sort, and now you must, but if you wish, you can speak with the sorcerer king himself and argue for an exemption.'

The noble paled, but surprised Jircniv by saying, 'Then I will do so, if this passes, my people will be destroyed and me with them. If the only way to avert that is to speak to the sorcerer king, then I will.'

Jircniv had not been sure which was more surprising, that he was willing to speak to that monster in person himself, or...that the noble mentioned his people's wellbeing before his own. If the man survived, Jircniv promised himself he'd see a good future for that particular noble if it were within his power.

A few messages later, and a meeting had been called, Count Yvas showed shocking fortitude at the awe inspiring wealth and luxury of the Sorcerer King as he approached the throne, and even greater courage in that he could advance despite the array of monsters assembled in the throne room. The minister of finance for the empire by contrast...had simply fainted straight away, and two monsters had to pick him up bodily and deposit his unconscious form behind the two nobles.

Ainz waited until they came near and knelt before him, after which he said, 'Raise your heads, and speak your minds.'

Jircniv, being the senior servant, went first. 'Majesty, in raising money to tribute to your greatness, I have imposed a few minor taxes around my empire, and while most make no objection to paying, this man has taken issue, and wishes to appeal to you directly.'

Ainz nodded, 'Who is that behind you?'

'That is our finance minister, I brought him here to help account for the imperial budget so that you would know we were not negligent in our obligations or imposing upon your authority to simply raise more money without need...it seems however...your greatness was to much for him, and he has fainted, I pray you be merciful to him for any offense this may cause.' Jircniv said, inwardly wondering if only two...or if only one...or if any...would go back to the empire today.

Ainz nodded, 'No harm done, this is a bit impressive, the work of my friends and I...I will take his fainting as a compliment, rather than an insult...now...Count Yvas wasn't it? Please, speak your mind.'

The count's words spilled out of him in a torrent as he accounted for his costs, expenses, the value of his people's works, and the impact such a tax would have on them, and gradually Ains began to understand...and when the words stopped...Ainz laughed, he laughed long and hard, confusion and shock appeared on the faces of the nobles before him.

Inwardly, though they'd never know it, Ainz was grateful for the long history of his world, and for his undead nature...and for the massive library from which he could draw...which had given him the books on economics that he had studied in the quiet hours alone in his room.

'I see your problem, my dear vassals...know that I do not wish your poverty, I wish your prosperity, if the tribute imposed upon you is to great, you should tell me of your troubles, I cannot draw blood frome a stone, or money from where there is none...but before I begin, please wake your finance minister, he should probably be aware of all this.' Some frantic shaking was interrupted by Demiurge simply saying, 'Wake up!' in the voice that, two years earlier, had forced all of Jircniv's party to kneel. A moment later, the three were kneeling together as Ainz spoke.

Inside his head, Suzuki Satori was very glad this was something he could address, as an office worker, he well understood the intricacies of money, and that experience had lent itself well to his growing understanding of economics...and the books of his library contained the knowledge of 12,000 years of human economic theory and development...which he proceeded to dump upon people who had only 600 years of history behind them, and most of that spent just trying to not be eaten.

He explained the use of capital and investment, tax centralization and collection, voluntary compliance, standardized weight for coinage, and how regulations worked to incentivize behavior on the marketplace...and for good measure he offered to send his undead to build roads, and his runesmiths to enchant them against damage, in exchange for a share of the trade increase that he predicted would result...and to offset that from the tribute due...and then for good measure he said...

'Count Yvas, you appear to be quite proud of the work of your artisans, and as you can see from this room, I value beauty and artistry quite highly, too, you have displayed courage in coming here for the sake of your people, this suggests you see value in them, and when a mere mortal sees enough value in something to risk the scant life he is limited to...I take notice.' Yvas swallowed but said nothing.

'So with that in mind,' Ainz said, 'If you have the space on your estate, I will establish a school for artisans there, to be administered by yourself and those you appoint, your artisans will select student applications from around the empire and all other lands I control, to be funded in part by the sale of student goods, the pricing tiers to be set by averaging teacher appraisal of quality against the student's year of study, we will cut the cost of transporting these goods over roads by the use of an undead guard to accompany a merchant using an 'enhanced floating board' spell we have developed from a more primitive version, allowing for the transportation of goods totalling about five times the usual cargo limits.'

As he spoke, the eyes of the finance minister who just received an intro to economic's course, were so wide that it seemed their wideness was the only thing keeping them from closing in another fainting spell. Jircniv was inwardly conflicted as he realized the enhancement that was coming to his realm from a revolution in economics and trade, delighted at the wealth he would receive...but frustrated that he had been bested again by the monster...or god...before him.

Yvas however...was in tears as Ainz continued to dole out benefits that would enrich his domain for generations...especially when Ainz mentioned lowering taxes on raw materials transported over distance, and compensating for the difference by using undead labor to reduce production costs in the mines themselves...and the Jircniv saw the sparkle in Yvas eyes at the mention of a grand school of artisans, even through his tears, his eyes shone like stars. '...And when your first generation of students has grown into masters of their craft, I trust you will make no objection if I require that their 'graduation' be marked by working for me on a project somewhere in my lands?' Yvas didn't even hesitate in his assent.

The memory faded as Jircniv continued to contemplate the sealed message, all that had taken place four years ago, Ainz had personally gone to create the school...literally...he had cast a spell...and a massive complex had emerged from the ground as if it had been just hiding there, waiting to be revealed, numerous nobles had been in attendance, the catering provided from the Sorcerer Kingdom had been a powerful incentive...as had connections to both one another and to the noble who was bound to become supremely wealthy and influental as a result of this new institution. The roads had taken only two months to complete, and the enchanting mere days...and now the road to the capitol...which had appeared as a monument to the finest work of the empire...looked like a child's imitation...the enchantments to the roads done through runecraft, kept them free of rain and snow, and nobody had been able to so much as damage them, even by intent, as Jircniv learned when a rogue priest in a fit of rage, called the road an abomination of god, and summoned angels to attack it...and failed so miserably that the fellow had taken his life on it so that it would be stained with holy blood...only to watch in final futile frustration as the blood poured out...and the road seemed to simply...reject it...and the blood ran off the road and into the dirt.

The school thrived and the first students were now the first graduates, and they had built a spire in E-Rantel with countless intricate designs, and a plaque in front of it proclaimed it to be the work of students of the school...this first project result became a popular gathering place for other artists...and some of the second term of students were drawn from those who came to show off their own work, and who caught the eyes of school administrators seeking talent. The coffers of the empire grew even as the taxes declined, and the fixed rate of tribute according to imperial net had kept Jircniv calm about meeting the Sorcerer King's expectations, along with submitting an annual finance report to show his wealth was not being squandered...it was so effective at keeping him honest...that Jircniv instituted the same practice with his nobles, requiring finance reports and regularly auditing them looking for discrepencies.

Now...another message...he wondered how Ainz planned to outclass him this time...and with a deep breath, he broke the seal...

So...thanks for reading, this is the first fanfiction I've ever done, not really sure if I'll continue this one or not or if it will be a vignette, but either way, I hope you enjoyed it.


	2. Changing the World Over Dinner

Jircniv found himself sighing yet again as he opened the message, it was an invitation to dinner. No wonder it had come in such a formal manner instead of through an emissary. As he read, he understood the why of the occasion, it was to commemorate Fludur's growth in magical knowledge, apparently he had successfully cast 'a minor 7th tier spell' with the aid of some preparation from Ainz and the lending of a magical item to enhance his power...but nonetheless...an achievement that surpassed all other humans in known history.

Jircniv clenched the invitation in his fist. 'He's humiliating me again. Yet...I must bear it. What else can I do?' Fludur's behavior was not the least bit unexpected, he'd always known how much his mentor valued magical knowledge, but that didn't make it hurt less, like a child finding out that another son was his father's favorite...it made Jircniv feel like second best...and now a distant third, as Ainz had stolen him away and put the empire into his service.

'Ah...how interesting...he's allowing me to bring guests to witness the humiliation.' Jircniv stopped himself from sighing as a brilliant notion occured to him. 'He is probably expecting me to bring nobles...but no...' he thought to himself, 'I will bring the high priests of the temples of the empire...they've been...distant since this whole thing began...true...they know the power of the spell so they're not willing to rebel, but they know of it only second hand...if I bring them before that monster in the...bone...well that should make them more sympathetic to me.'

He relaxed his grip on the invitation, and it restored itself to being completely free of creases...an utterly trivial use of magic that Jircniv knew none of his available magic caster's could manage...the small humiliations...the small evidences of being surpassed and overwhelmed, those stung the most.

Thirty days later, the high priests had assembled, and watched in horror in the throne room as a gate opened and several goddesses dressed as maids stepped through, and bowed to those assembled, one of them spoke, 'I am Yuri Alpha, and I am head of the maids who will be attending to you at the reception, Ainz has asked us to come through first to provide you with...suitable attire.'

They looked collectively confused, 'Ahem...' Jircniv said, 'While I appreciate the gesture...is there something wrong with what we are wearing now? This is formal garb in the Empire.'

Yuri smiled sweetly and said, 'No, it is not that, his majesty has prepared similar clothing for you, but yours is not enchanted, what we present to you, will be.'

'Enchanted?' An elderly priest said with skepticism...for what?'

Yuri turned her smile to the elderly man, 'The clothing we present will enhance your fortitude, so that you may enjoy more of the drinks to be provided at the tasting, without the risk of becoming overly intoxicated or poisoning yourself through overconsumption, further, you will feel the vigor of a youth of twenty years for so long as you wear it, you will also be resistent to bacterial infection from the unfamiliar environment, and you will have enhanced memory of the evening so that memory of the pleasures of Nazarik will not fade as the years pass...' One by one she listed off the benefits of this specially made clothing...and their collective jaws began to drop.

Everybody knew 'an' enchantment could be placed on something...sometimes two...they knew Runecraft allowed for several...but to have so many...and for something so simple...it defied their knowledge, and Jircniv's bitter smile was not lost to their gaze as he gave a small nod, as if to say, 'Do you understand what I face now?'

One of the priests raised a hand...'What is a tasting...and...what is bacteria?'

'A tasting is where the host presents a series of foods, wines, or smoking goods, all to be sampled to find which things pair best together to maximally enhance the pleasure of consumption.'

Jircniv's eyes widened...his inner hedonist loved the notion, as clearly so did the priests, but to be able to do such a thing spoke of wealth beyond wealth.

Yuri continued, 'And bacteria is the cause of disease, our lord Ainz has revealed that the cause of sickness is something called 'germs' which enter the body and weaken it from within, and so he has had special magics crafted which will render them unable to host themselves within you. He calls these tiny living organisms 'bacteria'.

One of the priests began to weep, Jircniv knew why...he knew all these men well, that one had lost a child to sickness before joining the priesthood, and he had thought himself cursed or punished in some way, never understanding why she had died...and now a monster had not only found what caused sickness, but could prevent it, perhaps even cure it, and with trivial ease. For his own part, it was all the bloody emperor could do not to marvel in awe, and openly gawk at what the maid had relayed as if she were giving the time of day.

'Will he...share his knowledge on this...?' the weeping priest asked.

'I do not know, I am only a maid, you will have to ask his majesty.' Yuri replied.

'What is it you mean by...smoke?' another priest asked. 'You mean like from a fire?'

Yuri chuckled softly, charmingly, like the sound of a little bell chime. 'No sir, there is a plant in my lord's domain, called 'tobacco' and it is made into something called 'cigars' when that is lit on fire, you can inhale the smoke, and it provides a pleasurable taste, which is then breathed out, it is apparently a favorite activity of some of the supreme ones who once shared our lord's home, they would socialize and converse, as it requires a person to inhale, everyone gets heard, and nobody can speak endlessly over others. My maker was apparently very fond of it, and Lord Ainz wishes to share this pleasure with his vassals.'

Jircniv looked confused at the description, but decided to not press the issue, the maids began to go back and forth through the portal, bringing richly embroidered garments...of far finer cloth than that of the empire, and began to distrubte them to the appropriate wearers.

A few minutes later after a few private changing sessions, and the guests were ready to go, and Jircniv set the example by being the first to follow the maids through the black hole in reality.

He found himself in what he could only describe as a wonderland, with intricate artwork of the highest quality along the walls of a dining hall, an array of dishes already laid out, a massive round table made of some unknown substance, and rows of maids who were not less goddess like than the ones who had first come through, lining the walls.

The priests were still in awe of the feeling in their bodies, they were all old men and women, so this...this was like heavan, the aches and pains of age were gone, the vigor of youth was just as the maid had promised them, and then they saw where they were, and were they not maintained by the excellent feel and effect of the charmed clothing, they might have collapsed in shock.

They were so focused, they did not notice as Ainz approached behind them all, and standing just behind the emperor he said, 'It is a masterwork, is it not?' The priests all jumped in shock, and Jircniv nearly joined them, but Ainz seemingly did not notice. 'That painting there, is called 'The Mona Lisa' done by a master inventor, painter, and architect, as well as a master of war, some eight hundred years ago. That one over there, is called 'The Birth of Venus' done by an artist almost one thousand years ago, that one over there is called 'The School of Athens' it was done about seven hundred years ago, and it depicts a debate between two of the world's greatest philosophers, Socrates & Plato, about two thousand six hundred years ago...

Ainz was looking up and pointing at the various paintings, identifying them by name and date...and sometimes throwing in tidbits of trivia about the artists themselves, but what shook them all to the very core were the ages...nobody knew anything of the world but myth and legend from beyond six hundred years ago, the statues over there, yes I know they all look quite different, but they are from different eras, that rather crude looking one is from near the beginning of art itself, that little statuete is called the Venus of Hohle Fels, it was carved over 40,000 years ago...yet Ainz...the undead skeletal king...was throwing out ages that were simply beyond their ability comprehend, he was unaware of the stares he was receiving as he gave them a tour of past they never knew of.

'I wonder...' Ainz asked himself...'if I should tell them that I'm talking about my world's history and not theirs...' He mentally shook his head, 'That will just confuse them, besides, its probably better this way regardless.'

The maids and guardians who had begun to trickle in, listened intently as he went on at length, reciting what he remembered of his art history course in college.

'What races were all these artists...?' A priest asked.

'All of this work was done by humans.' Ainz said simply.

Their jaws dropped openly. Theirs were not the only ones...the guardians and maids could scarcely believe their ears.

Ainz laughed.

'Do you not believe me?'

Jircniv found his tongue first, 'Surely we do...its just my lord...'

'You haven't seen human work like this before?' Ainz said, finishing the emperor's sentence.

'Your people are capable of more than you think, though not a strong race, you are innovative, clever, you survived as a people because you applied yourselves in ways beyond mere brutishness,' Ainz turned and looked away, as if he were looking at the past, 'you excelled in learning, in creation, there is much potential in you...why do you think I was so willing to build the school for artisans in the empire, why do you think I put wealth of my own into the project, and sacrificed profit to do so, I value beauty, excellence, creativity, will, all of which are made manifest in arts and learning as much as in war, and all of which are needed to make a kingdom that not only endures, but that deserves to endure.'

'We will accomplish much, you and I...and this time it will last, and I will not go away.'

Several of the priests were moved to tears, weeping at the lost past, weeping with joy at the future being laid out before them, and in his heart of hearts...a part of Jircniv's frustration with Ainz surpassing him, melted away.

Ainz snapped back to the present, and he clapped his hands and summoned the maids to begin serving as the guests seated themselves, 'We will begin with the pairing, the wine vintage is that of Idun's Apples...which incidentally...you should not drink if you do not want to live another fifty years. Its quite diluted, but that is about what it will grant you, give or take a few years.

One of the priests choked out...'What...?'

'Wine made with Idun's apples as an added but diluted ingredient, restores some years of youth and so will extend life, at least in mortals, obviously it does me no good, so if you're looking forward to dying of old age...please pass on this one or request a further diluted sampling, and it will be paired with ice dragon steak, and then with a sampling of megalodon, a kind of fish, or giant shark if you're familiar with them. If you wish to pair them both with a cigar now, I will bring them out, the maids will demonstrate how to use them.'

Awe continued to increase as the evening wore on, the vigor of youth was matched with the vigor of several faces as priests both male and female consumed Idun's apple wine...and one by one each savory item of juice, liquor...and even beer...were shown to be beyond the quality of mortal knowledge or access, and the cigars proved to have a powerful impact as conversation went on, Fludur himself spent most of the evening besides his majesty, but when he approached Jircniv, he was to his surprise, embraced by the boy he had raised to manhood.

'It kills me to say it...gramps. But if this is all real, then betraying me might have been the best thing you've ever done. I can't win against the monster, but even if I did, all of us seem to be better off if I lose, so I won't try to win anymore, I won't try to get out anymore, he's even outdone our priests from the temples, they're wholly on his side already, and thanks to this, they're going to be leading the temples for another fifty years at least. Its better if I just go with this, isn't it?'

Fludur stroked his beard and his eyes sparkled, 'Yes my dear boy, yes, its good to be on the same side again, and truthfully this time.

The hours passed and the night wore on, and one by one the priests with key questions, were given answers...one was shown a microscope, and saw the germs that killed his child, and how they could be killed or protected against both magically and nonmagically.

Another asked after the philosophers from the painting, and was presented with copies of texts from them, and informed that they were only two of many known only to Ainz now...and the scholar's zeal was lit in him as it had been in Fludur before him. Another asked about the art, and was presented with a book of shocking quality with perfect recreations, showing a history of art over generations she could not even imagine, spanning thousands of years.

Others were given a glimpse at the long term plans for the adventurer's guild, for the education of mages, for the expansion of public services and the discovery of the world and the making of a golden age that would not die because no power existed that could topple it.

By dawn, the priests of the four gods were convinced that the Emperor had made the right choice, and more than that, they were ready for a heresy none had imagined even one day earlier, a break with the temples of the other human nations if it came to that, and granting the full support from the temples, to the rule of the Undead King.

Eventually, the gathering came to a close, and the priests were told they could keep the garb they wore if they chose, and promised that good service to Ainz and by proxy, to the emperor, would be rewarded with more of what they cherished.

When they were at last alone except for the servants of Ainz, Jircniv said, 'Sire, may we speak alone?'

Ainz nodded, and waved his reluctant servants out.

'May I speak freely?' Jircniv asked.

Ainz nodded again.

'When did you know it was I behind the party entering your...home?'

Ainz sighed with relief inside his own head. He had prepared an answer for this.

'The day they arrived.' He said.

Jircniv looked shocked.

'How? Was it Fludur...?' He asked.

Ainz shook his head. 'No, it was just the logical conclusion.'

Jircniv looked unconvinced.

'Its simple really,' Ainz explained, 'These were very weak figures, but they were obviously considered a powerful force, and there were a number of them, when compared to the average, or even exceptional figures in your service, it was easy to realize that nobody was going to be allowed to gather a private force like that without your sayso, and it was so public in its approach to me that it certainly wasn't done in secret.' He chuckled slightly.

'Think of it this way, suppose a nobleman in your empire a few years ago raised a personal army of 20,000 soldiers, how do you respond?' Ainz asked.

Jircniv thought a moment and replied, 'I immediately move to occupy his lands, disband his force and...ohhhhh...' The realization dawned on him.

'Exactly,' Ainz said, a force of workers like that was a small army all by itself, you are...or were...an absolute ruler, with a capable intelligence staff and military support, there is simply no way a noble goes rogue and raises that force that publicly without you not only knowing about it, but authorizing or even ordering it directly, and if it were done without your knowledge somehow, such a man would surely have not let you close enough to take his head without a fight. Therefore it was completely obvious that you were at the heart of it all.' Ainz finished, his skeletal hands opening before him, as if finishing a presentation on the obvious.

Jircniv shook his head, 'I wasn't nearly as clever as I thought, was I?' He asked.

'No, not so much.' Ainz said, 'But take heart, you're still the emperor, a valued vassal of a people with great potential, you will rule long and rule securely, and too, I am grateful to you, because you showed me...' Ainz paused, and stopped himself from saying, 'how to be a king', and instead said, 'how much potential humans still have, by way of ruling well.'

Jircniv could barely believe his own ears, as Ainz spoke, the undead had placed his skeletal hand on Jircniv's shoulder, a familiar gesture, even a warm one...it was impossible before to imagine an undead mimicking human details of behavior so perfectly, he looked down at the bones, and imagined flesh covering them, and then he looked Ainz in the eye.

'You really don't hate humans at all, do you?' He asked.

Ainz shook his head, 'No, I do not. It is true I will not hesitate to kill them, but then...do you, when it is necessary for you to do so to achieve your ends? Does any king? Does any general or warrior or even peasant?'

They shook their heads in unison.

'I do not hate humans, and I am not out to kill them. If I wanted to do that, well even though I can't use that spell for another six years now, I still have a dozen others just as deadly, I could have turned the entire region around my into the dead and undead now if I had wanted to.' Jircniv was shaken to the core as he learned that there was so much more the Sorcerer King could do to exteriminate just as many as he had on the Katze Plains, but also he thought to himself, 'I understand him a little better now...he was never an ordinary, if uncommonly intelligent, undead monster. He is truly an immortal king of the highest caliber.'

'Thank you for having me your majesty, and I am eager to see what wonders working your will, shall bring into the world tomorrow, and if I may ask, would you please do me the honor of joining me the next time a champion battles in the Arena, we may talk of the future in my private box as we enjoy a spectacle in which one of us is not participating in combat.'

He laughed internally at the joke on himself, remembering how Ainz had destroyed his battle plans, in person, by disrupting talks with the Theocracy with a simple question and a personal appearance, before thrashing the Martial Lord personally.

Ainz joined him in laughter, and said, 'It would be a pleasure, my royal brother. To the future!' he said, and raised a cup from which he could not drink, but instead offered it out to Jircniv, who drank it without hesitation, before setting it aside, and walking back through the portal with a wave of his hand, and a future he looked forward to very much, still growing in his mind.


	3. Gold or Ashes

When he returned to his palace, the priests were waiting, and the eldest of them spoke, 'My emperor, we have come to common ground, among ourselves, and with you. You were right to yield to him. Undead or not, he is a break with what we know of the undead, and even if we could break free...all that would mean is that someone else would reap the rewards of his knowledge and power. If he wanted us dead, I am certain he could have killed us all many times over...and given his capacity for reward, I cannot, we cannot, believe that this is just a trap.'

Jircniv sighed...in relief this time, for the first time in a long time.

'What will you do,' he asked, 'when the other temples of the other kingdoms oppose you.'

'We will break with them.' They said in harmony.

The elder priest continued to speak alone, 'In the Holy Kingdom, a group called 'Black Justice' is growing in significance, lead by one of the Sorcerer King's former servants, they are closely tied to the service of the Sorcerer King's ideals, and their leader, Neia Barja, has declared Ainz to be a god, its only a matter of time before they found a temple officially, and if we need to, we will join with them to continue to tend to the people. Too, the temples in E-Rantel are either losing influence or all on their own, moving towards the beliefs of Black Justice on their own by virtue of being directly ruled by the Sorcerer King, this had...had been cause for concern, but now it is cause for relief. We will send our delegations out to speak with them tomorrow, and we will organize a synod, a gathering of priests from all human nations that worship the four or the six gods.'

Another priest, this one the youngest of them all, interrupted, 'The question is not going to be whether or not Ainz Ooal Gown is actually a god or not...but rather or not we should embrace and worship him as such, or continue with the gods we always have...should he be a seventh...the only...and what are these 41 that were spoken of...'

Jircniv interjected, 'What do you think?'

Their eyes closed in contemplation, 'We have not drawn conclusions ourselves yet, but with the collective wisdom of the greatest priestly minds in humanity, we hope to come to some common ground and find answers.'

Jircniv tapped his fingers against his side as his brilliant mind raced, 'I think...this is probably a more dangerous situation than the Demonic invasions of Jaldabaoth.'

Eyes widened and stared at him in silence.

'Consider,' he said, 'When Jaldabaoth invaded, there was no question about battle lines, or who was on whose side, humans were fighting monsters and demons, and that was all there was to it. But this is different. If it falls to fighting, the lines will be between families, between neighborhood blocks, brother will be against brother, mother in law against daughter in law, mother against daughter, and father against son. Every man's enemies, will be the members of his own household, Ainz Ooal Gown has come as a sword, even though he does not raise one against us, his message and his power, may divide us more than anything he ever does, because just by existing, all who know of him, will know a god exists in this world, even if they suppress that knowledge and follow the gods of their traditions. I hope for your wisdom gentlemen, because a bad decision may very well see humans tearing one another apart.'

The sound of all their throats swallowing hard, was the only sound to break the silence as they imagined religious strife afflicting all the human nations.

They parted company then, and Jircniv returned to his bed, but he slept only a little, and rose before the Sun as was his custom, and stood to watch it crest the world and give light to his empire, and as looked out of his palace window over his capitol, on the main road, he saw a number of carriages, a virtual parade of them, all marked with the identities of various priests heading the temples, though ornately decorated, they did not really compare to his own, and were little more than peasant donkey carts, compared to that of the Sorcerer King. Still, they were unmistakable, and many were the eyes who followed their path, other than Jircniv himself, who saw as they went out the gate and began to take different roads, going in many different directions, to the temples of the various great cities of the empire and beyond.

'Majesty, what are you looking at?' A servant asked the shirtless emperor.

'I don't know.' He said, 'Either the start of a golden age, or the beginning of a conflict that will turn the human nations into ashes. Nothing like this has ever happened before, not in six hundred years, not even when the temples of the six gods were built, and I don't know what this means for me, for you, or for tomorrow, but I know I had better prepare for it. Lets get me dressed and ready, I have orders to give, I'll need to recall the legions from the frontiers.'

The servant's eyes went wide, but she scurried to obey as the emperor had his back to her, watching the Sun continue to rise above them all, uncertain of what today, let alone tomorrow, would bring to all of them, and quietly the emperor thought to himself, 'Even if I forget everything else in my life, I believe that this moment will remain with me till my dying day.'

He looked over his shoulder briefly, 'Also, summon the prime minister, I will need to dispatch a message to the Sorcerer King, I think we will need his help soon.'

I realize this is a bit short...but...hey...it seemed like a good place to end it. In case you haven't already realized, 'Memory & a Message' is taking place alongside 'God Rising' so you will see these two stories overlap and affect each other. Most of the stories I have in mind, will probably be like that, I might end up playing with the official timeline just a little bit, and making Ainz a little bit better educated than the official work, but I have chosen to take 'Elementary education' to mean 'standard' and in this world, to be employed in even a basic job, a college degree or certifications are a requirement, I doubt this would change in Suzuki Satori's world, so elementary, would mean at least some college education. If you don't agree...well neener neener, you just read it anyway and you can't unread it! ;)

Remember, reviews are MORE than welcome! The only way I'll know if the story should stop, is if it starts to suck, so tell me what you think.


	4. Throne Room Reflection

When the delegations of the priests of the four gods had gone out the gate in their long train, Jircniv did not waste further time. No sooner had he been dressed by the servant woman than he walked at a swift pace out of his room and in to the throne room, few people were there early except for guards, and a few of the especially talented and hardworking nobles, one of whom now held a special mental note in Jircniv's mind, Count Yves, who had been the first and only noble to object to anything Ainz expected, directly to Ainz himself, and who not only came away alive, but came away better than he went in in the first place.

His time with Ainz had opened up a whole new world of possibilities and realizations. His 'royal brother' was NOT just the evil human hating monster that reviled humanity and longed for their deaths...his collection of artwork, done by human hands, and his obvious reverence for what human hands had accomplished, had completely shattered that in Jircniv's own mind.

As he sat on his throne, drumming his fingers in thought while he waited for the prime minister to arrive, he completely revised everything in his memory when it came to the Undead King. Instead of seeing it in light of an undead monster out for death, he cast it in the light of a monarch building and securing a future for his people...and it began to fall into place in a way that it never had before. His actions as an undead monster made no sense, but his actions as a King were perfectly reasonable. Jircniv facepalmed and shook his head. 'I was truly blind, wasn't I?' He asked himself. 'I suppose I can't be blamed for it, but still, it should have been obvious, as it now is in hindsight, knowing what I know now, seeing what I've seen that I did not see before.'

A servant approached and placed a stack of reports on a table net to the throne, and Jircniv picked one up. It was a report from his observers in the Holy Kingdom, with a document attached from the ambassador. The report detailed the results of a three month expedition escorting Tinamoc around the country in a massive trade expedition to reestablish ties to the different communities, establish systems of production, and their actions along the way. Jircniv would have believed not a word he'd read, if he hadn't learned that they were personally backed by the Sorcerer Kingdom. Black Justice enclaves were now everywhere as a result of their exploits, and the group had openly declared that Ainz was a god. Tensions were rising north and south as a result, with no clear solution available to anyone. The ambassador noted that Caspond's handing of city guard tasks to Black Justice had been as divisive as it had been effective, the nobles and the paladins both objected, but crime and corruption were down, while the southern half of the Holy Kingdom, which was closely tied to the temples of the traditional six gods, was demanding that Caspond ban Ainz worship, and was reducing its relief supplies in retaliation...oh yes it 'said' that there were weak harvests and mines had collapsed, but these excuses were thinner than the paper they were written on to the political and experienced eyes of the bloody emperor. This was retaliation plain and simple.

Jircniv laughed out loud, startling some of his guards, he'd reached more or less the same conclusion as Black Justice had already, as far as he knew what real power was, compared to that which was in any human hands. Apparently Neia had been named 'Pope' of the Cult of Ainz, and the letters she'd written to her followers, along with the letters of Ainz and his guardians, were being combined into a single unified holy book. Jircniv didn't really wonder if the timing of this event, being almost to the day in line with the Baharuth Empire's priests sending out a call for a synod to settle the theological questions brought about by the rise of the Sorcerer Kingdom, was coincidental or not. 'Not a chance' He said out loud to himself, 'Now his worshipers will have to be represented or risk riots, let alone risk offending Ainz himself. Which should be their first and most obvious clue, because if the direct servants of the four or the six have to fear the wrath of this one...what does that make him?' He closed his eyes and exhaled deeply, the Southern Kingdom nobles were fools. True they had not suffered at the hands of Jaldabaoth as the Northern Kingdom had, but they should remember that they were not the ones to win the war either. If their goal was to drive the kingdom to civil war, or push the north further into the hands of the Sorcerer Kingdom, they were well on their way to succeeding. 'Stupid.' He said dismissively. Jircniv gave a sardonic chuckle to himself and picked up the next piece of paper.

A report from their observers in the Slane Theocracy, 'Marvelous.' he said and proceeded to read. The Slane Theocracy was responding to the Southern and Northern nobles complaints about the lack of priests in the Holy Kingdom, by sending out priests of their own, and, secretly, inquisitors to be put to the use of the nobles to uproot 'heresy' when they had established themselves in towns, cities, and villages. Jircniv clenched his fist around the report, 'Those fools!' he shouted and stood up, before catching himself, and gesturing for his startled gaurds to be at ease, and reseating himself slowly and forcing his heart to cease its sudden rapid beating.

'Don't they know what they're doing, how could they be so stupid?!' He thought to himself. He thought about the report of how Black Justice had handled itself against bandits, demihumans, and monsters, he imagined the cruel but pampered inquisitors trying to arrest even one of the elite Black Justice combat teams, for heresy, while the followers of Ainz were armed and armored with war gear directly from the Sorcerer King, and he wanted to laugh out loud all over again. 'The only way they'd have a prayer is if...' his mind began to race as he imagined how that would have to be done...'no...no...no.' over and over it turned in his mind. The Theocracy was made up of religious fanatics, their scriptures were on par with or surpassed most Adamantite teams, and the Paladins of the Holy Kingdom, while fewer in number, were still a force to be reckoned with and considerably better than the average soldier. In his mind he imagined Paladin and Scripture charging full tilt at one of the Black Justice shrines to take Neia Baraja into custody, and her veterans of the war equipped with gear and a fanatical will to power, ready to receive them with a unique combat method...he couldn't picture the outcome of such a struggle, or even there being only one. He imagined the devotees of the various temples dividing apart over the issue, with any slight straying from doctrine being treated as heresy, it was as if he could see one possible future unfolding, the soldiers of Ainz marching out of Nazarick to defend his followers, the Slane Theocracy, with their eyes on Heaven and not paying attention the world around them, finally declaring a crusade against the Sorcerer Kingdom, Re-Estize large population tearing itself apart or fleeing to one side or the other...

He saw the nations and leaders on the world stage, as if he saw dominoes, one falling in to the other, until all fell down and could not rise again.

'Could I be seeing a vision of the future...or am I being merely paranoid, I wish I knew.' He said to himself as he picked up another report, just as the prime minister arrived with a secretary.

The men bowed, but Jircniv waved it away perfunctorily to dismiss the copious greetings, 'We've got work to do, come into my office, we must settle on what to write to the Sorcerer King to seek his counsel and aid, because if we do not get it, I fear the human nations will simply cease to be. It may be that it happens anyway, but if it happens, it won't be because the bloody emperor sat back and did nothing.' He said and strode forcefully towards his inner sanctum, followed with trepidation by the prime minister and his servant.

 **AN: I know this is a little short, its really more about laying out the scene as Jircniv sees it and providing a little foreshadowing for both this story and the other, the next segment will be longer most likely, but none of these chapters for Memory & a Message, will be as long as those of 'God Rising'. Still, I hope you enjoy the ride along the way, a third story may be joining these two soon, but we'll have to see, it depends on what I do with the outline. And of course: REVIEWS WELCOME! :) **


	5. Reflections of an Emperor

Jircniv rubbed his temple, he rubbed it hard, he often did when dealing with issues related to those stiff necked fanatics of the Slane Theocracy. As he waited in his private office, he had the most recent reports brought in from what was happening in the Holy Kingdom.

'You have GOT to be kidding me.' He said to himself as he read. 'Not only did they approve the temple and hang a priest in the capitol, but the Black Justice religion has spread to the merchant class thanks to the conversion of Tinamoc? Black Justice guards are now the only ones merchants will hire or trust, after seeing the results of something called 'powerleveling' under the guidance of the Sorcerer King?' It was so unbelievable that he couldn't stop himself from reading it out loud.

His brilliant mind raced as he thought of the implications. If the merchants were united under one religion, that meant all money flowed through the hands of those loyal to Ainz Ooal Gown, if the merchants were guarded by fighters skilled enough to eliminate hundreds of demihumans, then the only people to be attacked while traveling will either be those who are alone, or those who travel while not under the banner of Black Justice. That means that most of those who travel, will do so while under the protection of the temple of the Sorcerer King, the other temples will not like that.

He picked up another trade report...a priest of Surshana has proposed that Ainz Ooal Gown is in fact the father of Surshana, descended from the realm of the gods to take up the work of his son and become the true savior of the world...he sighed, 'They will not like THAT in the Slane Theocracy...and with this upcoming synod, and the official recognition of the cult of Ainz in the Holy Kingdom, well...I am glad only priests are going.' He said under his breath. He wrote a note on a piece of paper beside him to establish Black Justice temples in the major cities of the empire, it would not do for the empire, the first vassal, to fall behind in this.

'...But why is this in a trade report?' He asked himself, before realizing why as he read on, the undead were being used for farming and mining throughout the areas where Black Justice membership was highest, and these were all areas that Neia Baraja had traveled throughout the northern part of the Holy Kingdom, food was growing more plentiful, and with more free time, people in the villages and towns that had taken up the practice of using the undead for that labor were pursuing new things, building more in their villages and towns, expanding infrastructure, even the sale of books had begun to take place as a collaboration between Neia & Tinamoc resulted in a literacy program being established, and supported by Ainz Ooal Gown.

Then he read the report from Prart...and his jaw hit the floor. The execution of the regional governor, theft of supplies from Ainz Ooal Gown, the corruption of the priesthood and the almost total abandonment of the entire city by the paladin order and most of the priests dead in riots...and...Neia Baraja had taken control, sent all the evidence through Ainz Ooal Gown...he paused at that and rapped his fingers on the desk. 'Neia Baraja...his squire during the campaign...she's accomplished quite a lot, its either the best move they've ever made, or the worst, depending on how they respond to her success, but passing that through Ainz meant that he knew the contents and every crime the nobles and merchants in the city were guilty of. Clever, very clever, it means they can't just sweep the whole thing under the rug or blame Neia for the whole thing'.

He chuckled, remembering that he was not the only intelligent man in the world, and read on: ...witnesses and the citizens of Prart are universal in putting the blame on the priests of the gods and the corrupt noble administering the city. The temples were all scrubbed, painted, and rededicated to the worship of Ainz Ooal Gown...and the city of almost 150,000 has almost without exception converted to the faith of their savior.

His head hurt.

He pushed aside the pain and reached for a book he kept in his office, it contained what he knew of the surrounding kingdoms, and he flipped to the page about the Roble Holy Kingdom, he traced his finger down the page...it needed to be updated, with Calca replaced with Caspond, and her information replaced with his...but what he wanted should still be reasonably accurate, even with the massive losses during the war.

Population: 3.5 million.

He put the book down, and leaned back in his chair, he covered his eyes with his hands, and sighed deeply, his estimates put the total deaths at one quarter of a million on the low side, to four hundred thousand on the high side, a huge number of dead, worse than just bodies, the loss of vital skills and experienced fighters and all the knowledge therein was profound and would cripple the country for decades, generations.

He began to run through his numbers, Neia had been to dozens of villages, she had done amazing work at numbers of them, and converted people all along the way, before the journey her supporters for the Sorcerer King who favored annexation was around thirty thousand, most of whom were war veterans. He began to think out loud as he tried to solve the problem...'Since her time in the capitol, she had expanded that considerably, she probably had a hundred to a hundred and fifty thousand...that would put her at about one hundred eighty thousand people, the mass conversion of Prart...she's converted almost ten percent of the population of the entire country, at a minimum, and possibly more.' He shook his head.

'Sorcerer King...if I had subordinates as capable as yours...I'd have ruled the world ten years before you got here.' He laughed and squeezed the bridge of his nose.

'This won't bode well in the Theocracy.' He looked at himself in the mirror and started to speak to his reflection, and reached down to pull out a glass and a bottle of wine. It was the only place he ever poured his own drinks, and it was honestly a bit of a relief to do something for himself, idly he wondered if any other rulers felt that way, then shrugged, and thought the better of it.

'Well...what'll they do?' He said to his reflection.

'What can we do?' He asked himself.

'The Theocracy will hear about the declaration of the temple soon if they haven't already, and before the ink is dry on whatever report they're writing about that, they'll hear about the mass conversions to the temple of Black Justice, they'll hear about the dead priests in Prart, and they won't care that the priests almost certainly deserved it.' He looked himself over in the mirror as he drank.

'Did they deserve it?' He asked himself.

'Yes, probably, from what that said about the riots', he gestured to the document on his desk, 'the people hit a boiling point when they tried to arrest Neia Baraja and she barely had to say anything to get the frenzy whipped up. That doesn't happen in a contented city.'

He looked at the map on the wall on the other side of his desk.

The Holy Kingdom didn't border the Slane Theocracy anymore, since the Sorcerer King had laid claim to the Abelion hills and conquered the demihumans there, they'd have to go to war against the Sorcerer King himself in order to reach them to conduct a crusade.

'Good way to die quickly.' He said to his reflection as he remembered what he read about the massacre on the Katze Plains.

He finished his drink and poured another, and just then, in walked the man he wanted to see, 'Come, sit, I have a letter to dictate and I'd like your thoughts along the way.'

It was going to be a very long day.

 **AN: As you've probably noticed, 'Memory & a Message' is an after the fact reflection story meant to show the responses to the actions that occur in the main story 'God Rising' told chiefly through the eyes of Jircniv, its a small divergence along the way and gives me the opportunity to provide contextual data to the things that are happening elsewhere that would just crowd the main story or would be jarring or awkward otherwise. I do of course, appreciate reviews, and if there are things you'd like to see or know, include that in your review and I may include it. This chapter was intended to be longer, but after 10,000 words on the latest chapter for 'God Rising' I'm a bit tapped out. Updates on this story will continue, but because they take place later in time, they may have to wait awhile until after the events have happened in the main story so I avoid spoilers.**

 **Thanks for reading!**


	6. In the Eye of the Beholder

Cardinal Dominic stood on front of the Emperor in his private chambers. 'This synod MUST be cancelled.' He said.

Jircniv's eyes narrowed, he was not used to being given orders by anyone but Ainz, and he found that he did not like it one bit. 'Must is a word not used with Emperors.' He said sharply.

'It is now.' Dominic replied.

'Even if I wanted to, and I don't, it is a temple affair, talk to them.' Jircniv said as he rested his head on a closed fist.

Dominic's gaze turned dark and brooding. 'I tried. But they're stubborn.'

'Because they saw what you didn't.' Emperor Jircniv said flatly.

'We all know of the massacre on the Katze Plains.' Dominic said sharply.

'That isn't what I mean. Its far worse for your argument than you can even begin to realize.' Jircniv said.

'What do you mean?' Dominic asked in a grave voice, the color already draining away from his face.

'I took the temple leaders of the empire with me in to the Sorcerer King's home.' He said.

'And he tortured them? He broke their will?' Dominic said expectantly.

'Worse.' Jircniv said. 'He convinced them, he won them over, he showed them not just his power to end life, but to save it, to build up great things, he demonstrated the ability to give humanity the golden age of existence that you in the Slane Theocracy have only been able to promise for the last few hundred years. He's able to do what you can't, and he doesn't require that countless people suffer along the way to get it.'

Dominic's pale expression didn't fade away.

'Tell me Dominic, do you think I am an incompetent, cowardly fool?' Jircniv asked.

Dominic sighed with exhasperation. 'In all honesty, no. I don't.'

'Am I the sort to throw away my people like trash?' Jircniv asked further.

'No.' Dominic said flatly, not liking the direction of this conversation.

'Then trust me when I say that I did not make the decision to become a vassal lightly. True I was politically outmanuevered, it left me no options at the time, and I did seek a way out after the fact...but the truth is, the Empire is better off than it has ever been, if he wanted us dead, he could do it, he hasn't killed anyone that wasn't directly in his way and unwilling to get out of it. I'm not going to interfere with the temples desire to form a synod to answer theological questions just because you in the Slane Theocracy are convinced this is some sort of long con. Besides, its better that this come about in an organized way than chaotically.' Jircniv said softly, with some sympathy in his voice.

'Tell me Dominic, how are your intelligence operations in the Holy Roble Kingdom going?' Jircniv asked, already knowing the answer.

'You're asking because you already know, aren't you?' Dominic asked sharply.

'Exactly so.' Jircniv replied. 'I know your entire apparatus in the Capitol was completely dismantled about three months ago. That probably means you don't know much about what has happened since.'

Dominic went from pale to ghost white. 'What...? We have had only fragmentary news from travelers. That Prart has come to the Black Justice faith, as did surviving priests and paladins there, that some of them have taken to wandering the roads in order to serve the people, but as bad as that is, I think you mean something else.'

'I suppose it is harmless to tell you this much...the former Paladin Commander has turned traitor, after she escaped the Capitol she disappeared for a bit, and then she started raiding and exterminating villages along the path South of Prart, she's targeting converts, I don't know what you did to get her to go that far, but if that was your goal, it worked like a charm, if nothing is done, she's going to get a holy war going. Do you think you can win it?' Jircniv asked.

Dominic looked horrified and angry at once, sacrificing peasants for the greater good was acceptable, but with Remedios acting the role of a rudderless ship going wild in a storm, that as a variable he couldn't control for, that was a complication. 'We are safe from his dread spell for the next few years at least.' Dominic said.

'And what about the others?' Jircniv asked.

'What...others?' Dominic asked softly.

'The Sorcerer King has mentioned that he has a half a dozen or so spells of similar destructive capability that he can use in the meantime. What will you do about those?' Jircniv asked.

Dominic's first instinct was to deny it, and he opened his mouth to do so, then closed it, then opened it again, desperate to deny what he'd just been told, desperate to say it was impossible, desperate to say it couldn't be, but for that monster, what did the word 'limit' even mean? He couldn't say it was impossible, no matter how much he wanted to.

Instead he said simply...'Shit.'

'Yes.' Jircniv said. 'And that is just what you have stepped in, and I won't have it tracked around the empire. If you choose to make a battleground of the Holy Kingdom in a proxy war against the Sorcerer King, do not expect me to throw my people's lives away over it. I don't know what the future holds, but I know for sure that one way to guarantee that we have no future is to get in the way of the Sorcerer King's ambitions. Don't throw your lives or the lives of your people away over dogma.'

'Only the faith matters!' Dominic said harshly.

'What good is a faith that only costs people their lives and gains them nothing?' Jircniv asked.

'The gods will answer that.' Dominic said, his voice retaining its harshness.

'Then ask Ainz Ooal Gown, he's the closest thing to that in this world.' Jircniv said tiredly.

'Blasphemy!' Dominic said.

'If the four or the six care about that, let them tell me themselves.' Jircniv said, 'It is my job to care for the happiness of my people, not for that of the gods, so which one to put first is an easy choice for me.'

Dominic growled harshly, 'You'll suffer beside this 'Pope Neia' for this.' He said.

Jircniv laughed. 'She defeated and captured Remedios Custodio, her Black Justice warriors were trained by the invincible guardians of Ainz Ooal Gown and are equipped with arms and armor that nearly rival the divine equipment of your best scriptures, and there are now hundreds and hundreds of them. I tried a few weeks ago to imagine what would happen if one of your fat little inquisitors tried to arrest her for heresy, and I tried to imagine what the outcome would be between your scriptures and the hundreds, and no doubt soon to be thousands, of Black Justice elites, and honestly...I laughed at the first scenario, and couldn't even imagine the outcome of the second. Your scriptures are supposed to be the pinnacle of humanity, but between the entire adventurerer's guild and the mysterious training the Sorcerer King has given to the Black Justice elites, well in just these last few years, your elites are now a mere thorn to be clipped off, even if you won a single battle, you'd be ruined by losses and unable to fight a second one, and that is assuming that the Sorcerer King doesn't send in support of his own, in which case he'll go over you like a horses hooves stamp down grass without even noticing. In another year, their elite units will surpass all but the best of the best of your scriptures.'

'The gods will give us victory.' Dominic said with determination.

'Your belief in that will only give ample work to grave diggers.' Jircniv replied. 'We're done here, return to the Slane Theocracy, tell the other cardinals that we have no intention of obstructing the temples, and we have no intention of rebelling against the Sorcerer King. The only thing I can do for you is promise that when your lands begin to get overrun, I will accept your peasant refugees into the Empire.'

Dominic did not express his gratitude as he walked out. Jircniv did not blame him.

 _In the Adventurer's Guild of E-Rantel, four months after the founding of Black Justice..._

Pluton Ainzach looked happily as his eyes swept the training grounds, the enormous efforts of the Sorcerer King and his servants had created the largest training complex in the known world, it offered dungeons, forests, deserts, weather variations, confrontations under conditions of every kind with varying degrees of difficulty, all modular to prevent complacency. On the outskirts were where trainers were in every kind of weapon he knew of, experts from the Sorcerer Kingdom had been the first instructors, including a demihuman lizardman, but Adamantite adventurers sometimes earned tokens by doubling as instructors for younger and newer adventurers, and there combat training took place against individuals and teams, the training principle, so effective in its simplicity, that one can train ten and ten can train one hundred and one hundred can train one thousand, had been proven beyond doubt.

Now there were more adamantite teams in the Sorcerer Kingdom than there had ever been, nobody died before reaching their potential, and teams had begun to venture out with the best equipment possible, to make maps and make contact with others beyond the scant borders they knew of. They were truly adventurers, and Pluton could not have been more overjoyed to have been present to see it all begin.

Beside him stood Theo Rakeshear, head of the Magicians guild in the city, similar reforms had been undertaken for his organization two years earlier, with just as radical a transformation, and now potentials were routinely pulled from peasant villages thanks to a talent registry system that saw birth registration tied to it, so that anyone born where officials of the Sorcerer Kingdom worked, could be identified for magical ability and have a spot reserved for them when they came of age. While the first of those to be identified were still far to young, the facilities were already built and waiting for them, and all those who wished to be examined for that ability were given the chance for free, and so his guild's ranks had swollen, scrolls were made freely available and producing them for future classes became part of the learning process, practical application of magic saw a smaller but not less grand training area created for would be magic users, and today those interested in seeing the world were being matched up with adventurers to create a new crop of teams to venture out into the world. It was a dream come true for both men, and it was with awed silence that they stood and watched their dreams made real.

It wasn't until the teams broke apart for a break that they broke their own silence. 'I suppose you've heard the news out of the Holy Kingdom?' Pluton asked.

Theo nodded, 'I have, the cult of Ainz, they declare him to be a god, some say he is the god of justice, that is what their 'pope' says, merchants call him the god of trade, Fludur has called him to be the god of magic, and a sect of priests who broke from the worship of the six have declared him to be the god of darkness and father of Surshana come to the world to complete the work of his son and lead humanity into a golden age.'

'Some of the adventurer's have started calling him the god of battle, courage, and adventure, too.' Pluton said, 'What do you think old friend?'

Theo sighed heavily, 'I honestly don't know, I mean he's done more than the six gods ever did, and that is saying something, if he is not a god, he's close enough for me. A few Black Justice priests arrived here and bought some space to build a temple, they've started doing services already and the temple is being built up around them, its really quite a sight to see. What about you?'

'I'm to old to care much for gods or not gods, its enough for me that he's done amazing things and he's made my dreams come true, I'm happy in my service, and what more can I ask than that, I'm not mourning the loss of the young like I was, its good enough for me to say he's worth following.' Pluton said with a smile, 'Come, join me for a drink, we can toast to a bright future.' He clapped Theo on the back, and they walked back inside the training field office together.

 _In the adventurer's guild of Re-Estize, six months after the founding of Black Justice and the third fall of Prart..._

Evileye shivered despite not feeling cold. 'Its bad, its very bad.' She said.

Gagaran didn't argue, 'I don't doubt it. I heard about the attacks on villages by Remedios, to think a paladin could fall so far, now rumor has it from the merchants that there are some shockingly powerful fighters among the raiders, to powerful to be simple rogue paladins.

Tia's face was dark, 'What do you think that means?'

Tina spoke up quickly, 'It means outsiders are infiltrating the Holy Kingdom and helping to hunt down Black Justice converts, and there are only a few places with powerful enough teams to merit that kind of rumor.'

'That means Slane Theocracy.' Lakyus clarified, rapping her fingers on the table, 'They're not above killing innocent people if it gets their way.'

'Are they really innocent though,' Gagaran asked, 'they are followers of the undead, who I remind you, killed almost two hundred thousand humans with one spell.'

'If what I hear is true, they're not even trying to determine who is who though,' Evileye tensed at what Gagaran said, 'look...I don't know for sure what is going on, all we have are rumors, but we've met both Neia & Remedios before, and none of these stories sound like any of them, plus we've got an offer from King Caspond to go down there and help protect people, as do a number of other teams, we have no other work right now, so I say we take the offer, we an find out what the real truth is one way or the other, and we'll see who we're really protecting, and from whom.'

Lakyus spoke up next, 'I don't like the idea of working for that undead monster, but we don't have any other jobs going right now and we can't eat ideals, we can take the job and see what happens when we get there. Besides, protecting people is what we do. Anyone opposed to taking it?' She asked.

There were no objections. 'Alright, then we set out in the morning, go buy whatever supplies you need for now, because we're setting out at sunrise.'

 **AN: Well I hope you've enjoyed this installment of the retrospective story, I tried to avoid some spoilers, but I did include a teaser or two about what you'll see in the coming stages of 'God Rising' and a hint about what the next side story will be that branches off from it. I'm really enjoying this process, and as always, I love reading your reviews, so please feel free to leave a comment on what you thought, including suggestions if you have any. :)**


	7. Snapshots

Lakyus was normally happy when going out on a job she believed in, and protecting people was something she really believed in, but this job was not one that brought her the same confidence. Even if she was protecting people, she knew Caspond was working with the undead.

Evileye had done what she could to ask for information, even talking to Momon, and what she'd had to say was...strange.

"Momon tells me that its true, Remedios and a number of rogue paladins have been killing other humans around the Northern Holy Kingdom. Gustav, her former second, is now in charge and he's been trying to hunt her down with the remaining paladins. He's had only limited successes as Remedios has stayed on the move. He tells me that the Sorcerer King's information network has revealed that the Southern Holy Kingdom has been sending supplies and even manpower to support the effort at stamping out the heresy."

"What about the King?" Lakyus asked as the rest of the team listened intently.

"He's sent out soldiers to support Neia and both royal soldiers and Black Justice members have been put at numerous towns and villages, and they've fended off a number of raids, a few villages were burned, and those show incredibly powerful fighters were involved in overruning them, to powerful to be among the remaining Northerners." Evileye said.

"How can this be happening?" Gagaran asked aghast.

"Gods alone could answer that one..." Evileye said. "But it seems the Theocracy and the Southern Kingdom have turned the Northern Holy Kingdom into a battleground by proxy, the King is having trouble keeping order, the noble faction there has fractured, and he's drawing on support from the Black Justice temples resources, his contracting us means things are really getting bad down there."

"For this many adamantite teams?" Tia said, "That is an understatement, remember it isn't just us, they've hired five others as well, and several lower ranked teams besides, and the Southern Holy Kingdom is doing the same by hiring workers from whereever they can."

"A fair point." Evileye said. "Whatever the case, people are suffering and we have the power to stop it, I don't like working for the Sorcerer King even by proxy, but I can't argue against protecting people just because I don't like the employer."

Tina sighed, "It is what it is, we've just got to put up with it, its still hard to believe it is coming down to this though, tensions are only going to increase as the Synod of Arwinter approaches."

"Speaking of which, aren't you going to attend the Synod?" Evileye asked Lakyus, "I mean you're not only an adventurer, you're a noble and a priestess, and because of your rank and experience nobody would deny you entry even if they wanted to, and I'm sure they don't want to."

"I am going to attend, yes." Lakyus said. "But the synod is still a year away, priests from all the surrounding countries, are gathering information, arguments, and settling their own positions, even some demihumans are being asked to send representatives to offer their testimony about their experiences under Ainz Ooal Gown. The Slane Theocracy is objecting of course, but the priests of the Empire and Re-Estize are both demanding it be accepted, I doubt the synod will happen before that question is settled, so the one year timeline might become two. Suffice it to say I do have time to do this job, and besides...this might give me insight into my own position on the matter."

"You can't seriously be thinking..." Evileye began.

"No...but I don't know what I'll be thinking six months from now. I have to keep an open mind to anything." Lakyus said. "These are troubling times, maybe not the sort of thing I'd want to see in my lifetime, but I didn't get to pick the time I was born, so I just have to make the best of it." She shook her head and they rode on in silence, it would take at least a month before they got to the capitol, and they all had the distinct feeling it would be a very long month.

 _In Kami Miyako, Capitol of the Slane Theocracy..._

Dominic gave his report of his meeting with Emperor Jircniv, and the table descended into chaos in a way that was now routine for them all when matters pertaining to the Sorcerer King came up.

"Our assistance to Remedios is problematic at best now, she's an unguided arrow, we should pull our support and let them take her down." Dominic said. "Without our intelligence operatives in place any longer, we don't have the same influence we did.

"The scriptures can compensate for that." Pontifex Maximus said. "As long as we keep our scriptures active there, we can influence her decisions at least indirectly by providing her with intelligence, it doesn't always have to be true, it just has to get her to do what we need her to do, and that is hunting down heretics. With the priests in the South preaching the dangers and heresy in the north, they're always drawing in new recruits to fight, and with our inquisitor priests going to villages and stirring people against their heretical neighbors, we are not without advantages. There is no reason to throw that away."

Dominic frowned, he did that a lot on this subject, "You may be right, but we're targeting worshipers of the Sorcerer King, if we do to much to fast, it may draw his direct intervention, and the Emperor has informed me that he has numerous other spells like those he used on the Katze Plains."

The table erupted into even greater chaos, but this time accentuated with tremors of terror.

"That can't be!" A voice shouted out.

"With that monster, anything can be, as far as we know." Another said with a shaking voice.

"Besides all that, our inquisitor priests are also being killed. The first one was Justicar, he was a rising star in the Theocracy, he practically invented elf breaking and his efforts propelled a great many of our most successful mass farming projects, this was his shot to move into the upper ranks, and within a week or two of his first success, what happened? His head ended up pinned to a gate. And he's not the only one, while we haven't had our supporting villages massacred in response yet, if they resort to terror, well we know how that will go, is anyone here NOT trembling in fear at the possibility of the Sorcerer King's involvement?" Dominic said.

Nobody spoke.

"And we know the gods are with us. Peasants of a nearly ruined Kingdom are another matter. The Holy King is all but in the pocket of Black Justice, we need to end this quickly, I say we take him down directly and install a new leader, someone from the Southern Holy Kingdom." Dominic said, "If we do this quickly we can expel Black Justice followers entirely, leaving no good casus belli for the Sorcerer King, and start to rebuild it in the way the gods intended."

"Whatever we do, we need to do it soon, our best efforts will not be enough if Pope Neia's power continues to increase, her travels have given her powerful connections and we cannot have that going on, plus, she's completed her text, the Preto Sabedoria...supposedly it means 'Black Wisdom' in an ancient dead language. We need to take her down, we need to strike her directly, and we need to burn every copy of her book before it is distributed" Pontifex Maximus said sharply.

A general agreement was reached, and the decision was made, Pope Neia & King Caspond would die.

 _...Inside Nazarick..._

"It'll be time for Dopple Caspond's end soon." Demiurge said to Ainz.

"Yes, yes it will be." Ainz said, pretending to know exactly what Demiurge was talking about.

"Do you have a contact in place to help with his 'death'?" Ainz asked, hoping more information would be revealed.

Demiurge however, looked almost hurt, or perhaps distressed, and knelt with eyes downcast. "My lord if I ever failed you so greatly that I did not have such a thing ready before hand, I would end my life to atone for my mistake."

"Calm down Demiurge." Ainz said, placing his skeletal hand on Demiurge's shoulder, "I do not lack confidence in you, you are the child of my dear friend Ulbert, as the one who must care for you as he is gone, it falls to me to be as a father in his place, and a father must ask his son after his plans, not through lack of confidence in his son, but to prompt him to think, to grow, to learn, and to ensure his son knows success over failure, better that I ask and need not, than need to ask and fail to. Now please, stand up."

"Father..." Demiurge said softly, obviously deeply moved.

"Nothing to worry about, a corrupt count is ready to support the Theocracy, he's been flitting about through various factions for years like a moth dancing around a flame, but it'll be time for him to burn in the fire he's danced around, soon enough. As an added benefit, he's had a hand in some of the past thefts that Neia helped take care of some time ago, she was never able to quite connect it to him, but there is no real doubt about his guilt." Demiurge said with a grin.

"You want him for your happy farm? Don't you." Ainz asked wryly.

"I do. He's rather fat, so we can make a lot of scrolls from his skin, and he's not that old, so he can make scrolls for us for many years to come." Demiurge said.

"Wait...the scrolls of your happy farm come from humans?" He asked Demiurge.

"Of course." Demiurge said, "Well, the low tier scrolls anyway, higher tier ones come from more powerful creatures."

Ainz felt his disgust well up in him, only for it to be suppressed by his emotional dampener.

"I see." He said, "That is a suitable fate for someone who has dedicated themselves to harming Nazarick, but if there are any there who are innocent of any wrong doing towards us, or any who are in childhood, have their memories erased, put a 9th tier seal on those memories being restored, and release them somewhere with enough coin in foreign currency to start their lives over. Any experiments on living beings must be on either dull animals, on criminals, or on the enemies of Nazarick."

"As you say your majesty." Demiurge said, "Truly you are a merciful lord."

He then left to carry out Ainz's instructions, when Sebas approached bearing a document.

"My lord," Sebas said, "We have the final draft of the terms of undead rental within the Holy Kingdom, Neia Baraja has done an excellent job in detailing how the temples to your divine glory will serve as an outlet for their labor, serve your worshipers, and dispense wealth to you in return in the form of coin or resources as you see fit. With this, we will see a massive return within a few months, and all it will take are the dead, and the oversight of our human followers."

Ainz nodded and pretended to read through it quickly, turning one page after another as fast as he could, putting Sebas in awe of his master's ability to read and understand what is presented to him, and then he affixed his seal to the bottom of the document. "Agreed, it is done, see that it begins immediately, start with the criminals of the Baharuth Empire, offer to buy the dead of Re-Estize's criminal population, they're in no position to refuse coin, and provide some cheap 'create skeleton' wands to Black Justice priests to use on criminals there, that should give us thousands and thousands of undead laborers to distribute almost overnight." Ainz said with relief as he could feel the fiscal burdens on the Sorcerer Kingdom practically melt away.

 _...In the Lizardman Village..._

Zaryusu watched as the toadmen and lizardmen laid out the pathway for the road between their villages, it was something he never had imagined before, generations of conflict had been erased with a single victory under Cocytus, and now toadmen and lizardmen hammered tall stakes into the swamp, working side by side, creating road ways between all their villages, leading from Nazarick to them, and from them all to the Empire, with this, Cocytus promised that they'd gain the ability to conduct trade with the human kingdoms in a way never before imagined. Once the path was established, the Quagoa would tunnel under and shore up the bedrock to create a dry space somewhat above the swamp, by just a few feet, then the skeletons and other undead laborers would move in with liquid rock called 'pavement' and lay it over earth mounds to create an easily traveled road, and then the dwarf runesmiths would come and enchant the road against damage and flooding, and create, at Ainz's insistence, small tunnels under the road connecting the areas of the swamp so that they wouldn't be broken apart, allowing wildlife to still traverse from one area to another. It was the latest of many great projects that Zaryusu had never before imagined, and would have called impossible if he had. Now...now it was not only known, it was almost trivially easy to undertake.

 _...In Carne Village..._

Enri Emmot sat at the table of her office, she was reviewing the latest trade document that had been submitted to her by a Re-Estize merchant who wanted to establish an office in her town. She touched her forehead and sat back in her chair, everything was so different now. A few years ago she was an illiterate village girl, now she was a mayor, a general of a goblin army, the wife of the greatest alchemist in the known world, she was able to read and write fluently, and had learned more about trade than she'd ever imagined. Her village...which she insisted on continuing to call a village, was now a large and growing town, filled with demihumans and humans alike as residents and travelers both. The walls were manned by elves, dwarves, humans, lizardmen, while the ground was patrolled by ogres, during the day, while during the night Quagoa and goblins manned the walls. Dwarves were busy conducting experiments in runecraft...and beer production, making some of the best of both that anyone had ever used. Carne Select Beer was now traded as far away as the Draconic Kingdom, and was spoken of as proudly as Runecrafted gear.

"Gear and beer." She laughed as she said it, it was what they'd said they wanted to be known for, and it had become a virtual motto for the Dwarven district of town.

She was proud of her work, but she never seemed to run out of it, though it seldom stopped her from tiring out her husband as much as she could. She dared a lascivious grin in private as she thought about the previous evening, and then bent over the table with fresh determination to finish the day early, so that in the evening, she could finish late with him.

 **AN: A lot of bits and pieces here, its a big world after all, and I wanted to show at least a glimpse of all the things happening concurrently, do expect a longer look at Carne in the near future, but honestly not for awhile, its a snapshot kind of place to show what life is like under Ainz's unified rule, I probably won't give it a serious visit until the Black Justice holy book is distributed widely. As it is, I hope you enjoyed these snapshot chapter, and of course, reviews are the lifeblood of any writer, so keep me alive if you wish to see more. ;)**

 **Also related note: One of the best writers of Overlord Fanfiction has a new chapter out, and if you're not already reading his work, you damn well should, look for the story 'Masks They Wear' and read it. I daresay his work is superior to my own, and trust me, with my ego, I do not say that lightly. ;)**


	8. Looking Back & Looking On

_...In Arwinter palace, Baharuth Empire..._

Jircniv sighed. He did that a lot, he knew. When it came to the Sorcerer King, well that was especially true. Though he had to admit this was now on a more positive basis where he was concerned, and now it was frustration only with those who as he saw it, were still on the wrong side. As he reviewed the report of Neia Baraja's trial from his spies, he was 100% certain that the Sorcerer King had taken a personal hand in her protection and in the death of the one who had approached her. He was less certain about his spy's reported suggestion that one of the priests was actually in the employ of the Theocracy...but he did not really have a choice about submitting it to the Sorcerer King anyway.

So he dispatched Leinas Rockbruise with the original document. He could have taken it himself, he could have sent a common messenger, but as he thought about it, this was a small way of helping Leinas, she'd served for years in the hopes of alleviating her curse, and he had yet to be able to keep his word, and blood emperor or not, a noble who made a habit of not keeping his word was not one that tended to last. So before he dispatched her he chose to have a short conversation in his private office.

"Have a seat Leinas." Jircniv said.

It almost caused her to do a double take at his words, he was an emperor through and through, he would sit, those attending him would stand, so this was unusual. Still, hesitant as she was, she obeyed and sat on the opposite side of his desk.

"You've served me for years, and as loyally as I could expect of you given the...terms of our arrangement." He said.

"I cannot argue with that, your majesty." She said simply, glossing over her overt expression of general disloyalty if another party were able to fulfill her desires.

"However," he said, "I haven't really been able to fulfill my end of the bargain to you, and speaking truthfully, I do not know if I ever will."

This put a cloud on her face, but she listened intently nonetheless.

"Given a choice, I would prefer to see a positive outcome for you. So if you you'd like the chance, I'll send you to the Sorcerer Kingdom, you'll nominally be there to deliver some intelligence to the Sorcerer King, but this is also a chance for you to leave a positive impression. The Sorcerer King is a collector of talent, and he has...as strange as this sounds, an unusual fondness for the works of humans, if you offer your services to him, he may be willing to remove your curse. I can't say that he definitely can do this, but if he can't, I do not believe anyone else in the world ever will. The only thing I ask is that if he accepts your service and cures your curse, is that you return here to select your replacement, and train them if necessary, and also, that you consider that I have fulfilled my promise to you."

Leinas was silent for a long moment after the emperor spoke, and he slid the intelligence report across the desk. She took it up quickly and put the rolled up paper in the pouch at her side. "It will be done, my Emperor. And by the way...thank you." She said, then stood, and then rendered a salute, which she held for almost a minute, it was probably the only sincere one she'd ever given, he thought.

"Very well, prepare to leave within the hour, stop by my secretary and pick up a recommendation from me for your quality of service, that may help you gain a position with the Sorcerer King if you need it." He said, and with an acknowledging nod, she left.

When she was gone, he went over some of his other materials, he could not believe the Slane Theocracy had been dumb enough to send the Gray Scripture to assassinate Pope Neia. "What could you fools have been thinking. Your intelligence operations were demolished, even if the information didn't yield information about the scriptures, you can't move blind..." He said aloud to himself in private, it was by itself, just cause for the Holy Kingdom to call for war, but it was also reason enough for the Sorcerer King to get involved. "Murdering peasants, targeting Ainz Ooal Gown's personal squire, its like the Slane Theocracy wants to be exterminated...desperate fools." He said aloud. They were going to give him a lot to sigh over before the Synod of Arwinter, of that he was sure.

 _...In the Southern most part of the Northern half of the Roble Holy Kingdom..._

"Its been pretty quiet lately." Lakyus said.

"You're surprised?" Gagaran replied. "We're Blue Rose, not many will seek out a struggle against us if they can avoid it instead."

Tia and Tina shrugged in unison. "Its an easy job, frankly the only thing that makes it an Adamantite grade quest is the intimidation factor we have to use. Tia said. "...And...the fact that Remedios is out there somewhere." Tina added.

"Still strange though, isn't it?" Evileye said. "When I spoke to Momon, he believed this to be sincere, he even said he planned on going himself when his time allowed. He's so noble..." Evileye started to moon, and to cut her off Lakyus interjected.

"While it is strange normally for the undead to fight for the living, nothing about that one has been normal since he first walked out of whatever tomb they found him in. I can't deny that his forces have been effective, and I can't deny that his agents in Black Justice have been equal parts helpful and skillful. When this is all over, I want to visit E-Rantel. I have to see that place for myself." She said.

"If Momon is there, I'm sure it will be fine." Evileye said happily.

Tia and Tina rolled their eyes.

"I just want to try out that training area they've constructed, everything I hear about it seems to defy imagination." Gagaran added.

"At this point I don't see why not, we're already sort of working for him anyway by patrolling roads near villages populated by his worshipers, and the undead we see are all nonhostile. Even Gustav mentioned that people were thriving alongside undead ripped straight out of legends, and the people here are going about their business as if they don't exist. Its only been a few months since Black Justice started renting out undead labor, both to the people and to the crown, and its already like this. What must E-Rantel be like?" Lakyus asked.

Their conversation was cut short when they saw a Black Justice scout coming out of the forest, they waited as he approached, and when he was near he said, "I've located the camp, there are about fifty renegade paladins there, and around two hundred squires and other foot soldiers."

"With fifty paladins of uncertain strength, I don't think we can be sure of taking them all ourselves, we'd better use backup." Lakyus said. "Objections?" She asked. There were none, not like there had been at first, then there had been protests, but after several uses, the reliability and trust they had in the efficacy of the Sorcerer King's tools had gone up greatly. Lakyus took out a series of scrolls, and used them one by one, and around her, a number of high ranking demihuman summons appeared, a few goblins, a few orcs, and a number of beastmen. It was enough to tip the odds in her favor by a long way, they wouldn't last long, but they didn't need to, and she could replace scrolls, but she could not replace her precious friends.

"Lets go, we've got to put them down before they can do any more damage." Lakyus said, and the now larger team moved into the wood, following the Black Justice scout.

 _...In the Slane Theocracy capitol of Kami Miyako..._

"So let me see if I've got this straight." Dominic began. "The Gray Scripture was wiped out down to five members two months ago, their attack on Neia Baraja was a complete failure and the few casualties that were inflicted were going to be personally resurrected by the Sorcerer King. On top of that, our attempt at having Neia Baraja publicly tried, humiliated, and silenced not even two weeks later was not only an embarassing failure, but actually gave her an AUDIENCE for her views that included thousands of citizens, and it let her advertise her views and the free healing of Black Justice, the result of which within one month of her departure, had people clamoring for Black Justice to open a temple there, because our temples, the ones to the true gods, began to be seen as exploitative. And for good measure, the noble judge, and all six priests, and the two punishment officers, all disappeared...from their own fucking homes! Now we've got our former stronghold of support in the South divided into two...no...three parts. One part wants to immediately start a holy war, the other won't act at all without body guards, and the third part is drifting closer to Ainz Ooal Gown's side thanks to the fact that they're not taking a single coin for their services in healing people. Did I miss anything?" He asked sharply.

"Yes." Maximillian said. "The undead AND adamantite adventurers are now protecting villages and King Handor hasn't been able to to consolidate his power with the nobles enough to expel them. He's given the order and he's stopped paying for them out of the treasury, but the nobles first hired some themselves...renting the undead through the Black Justice temples...and the Sorcerer King started paying the adamantite teams themselves with something called 'writs of opportunity'.

"What the hell is a 'writ of opportunity'" Raymond asked.

Yvon let out a groan of frustration and said, "I just recently got a look at one of them, he's offering them not only a reasonable but not extravagant sum of gold, but also offering to allow them to consider the job to be the equivalent of several 'dungeon runs' through training, with every two weeks worth being the equivalent of tokens that allow them to trade for advanced rune crafted gear through his nationalized adventurer's guild, or to have pieces customized for their team's use. As the latest runecrafted weapons and armor are said to have four runes on them, this is a powerful incentive to keep them in the Holy Kingdom. Even if it means fighting humans."

"So now he's going to be advertising the quality of his military equipment and his adventurer's guild to the most powerful teams in the human world. It'll create a powerful incentive for them to come over to his side, some of them probably won't, not the ones with established ties like Blue Rose, but younger teams will be drawn to that power like moths to a flame, and that is a lot of potential lost in a lifetime." She sighed with frustration.

Dominic's knuckles turned white in his clenched fists. "We never should have backed Remedios, or manipulated her into targeting humans with all that 'Spiritual heteromorph' talk, we should have known she was unstable."

Ginedine said. "At least we successfully killed off King Caspond before he could go over to Black Justice completely. We have that much going for us, and we were able to get Count Handor onto the throne, even if it did cost a few lives."

"Granted." Berenice replied, "But at least it kept the Southern nobles from a full fledged secession and a civil war for the time being, those fools...well most of them...think that the talk about Jaldabaoth and the Sorcerer King are just gross exaggerations from ignorant peasants and people pumping up their conquerers so they don't look weak for losing. The only ones who know better are the ones who went North for the last battle of Jaldabaoth's invasion. The sad reality here is that King Handor shouldn't reign for too long, his ties to the South are the only thing propping him up, but he's not well liked or trusted by the Northerners where he actually rules, we need a more reliable candidate before the whole thing falls apart."

"The war with the elves is at least winding down, we're within only a few days of their capitol now, and despite being very defensible, its also easy to surround. We'll be able to redirect our forces soon, and I suggest that we start readying a fleet to land in the Holy Roble Kingdom soon, that place is a spark in a dry forest, and if we don't want it to fall into the Sorcerer King's hands, we'll need to move before he does." Dominic said.

The dickering went back and forth long into the night, and in the end it was agreed that they needed to expand the fleet and prepare for the first seaborn invasion in Slane Theocracy history.

 _...In the palace of Hoburns...capitol of the Roble Holy Kingdom..._

Handor drank deeply. He did that a lot these days. The death of King Caspond had been a tremendous opportunity, but he found as King he hadn't quite escaped trouble quite the way he thought he would. He growled, "Every time I do something good for one noble, I create ninety nine malcontents and one ingrate. But one thing was going right. He'd managed to draw the Southern nobles in to a private discussion, wherein he promised lands and titles for their sons by eliminating the challenges he faced in the North. They would be brought in nominally to help stabilize the region, but he knew how Northern nobles were, they were prickly, the North & South were practically different countries in many ways, there was still a lot of resentment against the South for failing to provide proper aid against Jaldabaoth, it would create plenty of opportunities to get rid of rivals.

He grinned as he thought of putting some of their heads on pikes. It was a pleasant thought, he liked those thoughts almost as much as he liked carrying them out. He threw his golden goblet aside like trash, which it might as well have been as far as he was concerned, now that it was empty. He saw a maid enter the chamber discreetly, clearly hoping to remain unnoticed as she went about her work. His face took on a nasty, lecherous expression, he had other work in mind for her as he looked over her curves, he got up, and approached her, she looked up from what she was doing just in time to see him reach for the top of her dress. The fate of the last maid to resist the Holy King came to mind, and she started to cry quietly, not daring to make a sound that might anger him, and hoped has he dragged her along to his chamber, that he would finish soon.

 _...In Nazarick..._

"Well that worked incredibly well." Ainz said casually.

"What is that my lord?" Albedo asked sweetly.

"Remember a few weeks back when I visited Neia Baraja and let one of the scripture members go?" He asked.

"I do my lord." She replied.

"The tail on him proved very effective, each time he contacted someone, we had someone new to follow, and I've had a flow chart created based on who spoke with whom, when, and for what, and through continuous monitoring, we got each person they talked to, and so on, and them, and so on, and by monitoring letters, we even got family information and are building dosiers on every single one of them." Ainz said, and slid the document over to Albedo. **(*AN: Chapter 16 of God Rising)**

"A 'flow...chart'?" Albedo asked curiously as she pronounced the previously unknown term, but when she took the document and saw the pictorial references of individuals, names, and saw the lines connecting from one person to the next, the description snapped into place.

"As expected of my genius lord, this is an amazing invention, innovative, simple, clear, why it even contains references to other documents about every individual we're building information on, I see this one...Parkins...file A42-13..." she got up and went to a nearby filing cabinet, opened A, sorted to 42, then sorted from there to 13, and found his file containing family, home town, vices, the man's life as he knew it was sitting in the private office of the Sorcerer King and he was utterly oblivious. Albedo's heart swelled with love and admiration for her King, and it sent her desire spiralling almost out of control, her breathing intensified as he said, "As soon as the Theocracy attacks, we're snapping up all of them, like gouging out their eyes before the fight even begins, but before that, we'll capture a few through manipulation of their weaknesses, threats, bribery, blackmail, whatever it takes to get false information planted to start them moving in the worst possible ways for them, and the best possible ways for us." Ainz said, drawing his boney fingers together, and a dark aura surrounded him for a moment, which was to much for Albedo. "Oh my lord! I can't bear it!" And she leaped at him suddenly.

"Albedo NO! Guardians, contain her!" He shouted as he clambered back in surprise.

 **AN: I hope you enjoyed this installment of the retrospective. I'm trying not to give out many spoilers along the way, since it necessarily has to take place at least somewhat after other events that haven't taken place in the main story, but I'm trying to keep it to just the things you already know are coming, while also keeping the timeline intact. As a result I had to skip some material I'd planned to reveal in this one which will instead be released in the next retrospective chapter. A few of you already guessed a little bit in some of your earlier reviews, such as the reviewer who guessed that the people at Neia's trial were in the pay of the Theocracy. Of course I don't mind some successful guesses, its fine, it just shows people enjoy the story enough to speculate, plus nobody has guessed some of the more important details that'll come out as the story unfolds towards its final climax. Till then though, I hope you enjoy the ride. I will be taking a two week vacation in late March early April though, so don't expect any updates during that time. :) My kids asked if they could be character inserts for at least one chapter, and I'm an indulgent dad so...maybe. You'll just have to forgive me my one indulgence along the way if I do that. Anyway, thanks for reading, and most especially, thanks to those who are reviewing! ;)**


	9. Pity the Poor King

_Arwinter Palace...Some time after the death of Handor & the resurrection of Queen Calca_

Jircniv sat in his private council room while he listened to the two priests speak.

"Sire, we have heard from priests from around the Empire, E-Rantel, Re-Estize, the Draconic Kingdom, the Northern Holy Kingdom, the Sorcerous Kingdom, the Southern Holy Kingdom...and...the Argland Council has expressed an interest in observing the proceedings while not acting in a participatory manner." The old man said.

"Argland has expressed interest...but the Slane Theocracy seems to be off that list?" He asked curiously.

"Yes sire, they seem to think they can slow the synod date by delaying their answer, or perhaps find some way to invalidate it by virtue of their absence." He replied.

"But why is Argland interested?" Jircniv asked. "They don't worship our gods."

"True, but they have heard of the Sorcerer King's power, and they do have a fondness for that." His comrade replied, to which Jircniv could only nod in agreement. "Who can blame them, that is the difference between the life and death of a nation."

"Will Pope Neia be in attendance?" He asked curiously, "She no longer worships the six or the four." As he asked the question, he remembered the terrifying eyes of the woman who had won the close favor of the Sorcerer King. Idly he wondered if she was wiser than he was, after all, she went over to him quickly after meeting him, while he...the emperor...had tried to defeat him, then yielded while trying to get out from under him, and then finally capitulated, and only much belatedly recognized Ainz Ooal Gown as more than just a highly intelligent undead, but a true ruler and the greatest boon to the world ever to appear, including a comparison to the old gods.

Idly he wondered how much farther along he'd be in progressing his country if he'd gone over as fully as Neia had as swiftly as she had. It was a bitter pill to swallow, but he could still say proudly that he was the first kingdom to offer itself over to the immortal king.

"We have received word that they will attend, her church administrators in Hoburns have assured us of that, but there is one problem." He said.

"Oh?" Jircniv asked.

"Yes sire, it seems that the new council has elected a king with strong ties to the Slane Theocracy, a man of the South, distantly related to Handor. Duke Astraka, and he's taken to stripping church priests of their position and their title as priests if he suspects that they're guilty of any form of heresy or sympathy towards Black Justice." The old priest's voice was filled with outrage as he spoke, it was a blatant and shameless manipulation, one never before seen in the six hundred year history of the church.

"The fools." Jircniv said, "They have no idea just what a grave mistake they've just made."

"Sire?" They asked in unison.

Jircniv sighed, "That's right, you haven't heard."

"Heard what?" They asked, again in unison.

"Queen Calca has been restored to life, she is currently residing in Nazarick, I have met her myself, and she has been seen by almost every significant ruler outside of the Slane Theocracy and the Holy Kingdom, and what is more...the Sorcerer King is going to restore her to the throne."

They could scarcely believe their ears. "She lives?!" The old priest marveled.

"She does, and it is definitely her, the Argland council's Platinum Dragon Lord checked her personally, she is not ensnared by magic and she is not a simulacra or a golem or anything of that nature, she really is who she seems to be. The Sorcerer King sent her to several gatherings unescorted by himself or any of his people, ensuring that she was not being coerced, it is really her, and the Slane Theocracy's plan is utterly screwed. She can reverse all the edicts stripping Black Justice of rights...and she will. She can reverse all the punitive manipulations stripping priests of their status...and she will. She has the right to rule...and if the Sorcerer King gets his way...and he will...well...then she will."

"Do you think he saw this coming?" Jircniv was asked in awe.

"I would not be surprised, of course she serves well as a just cause, but even if he didn't see it taking this route, well she serves the same end in countering the move. They are all out of options. Their attempt at stripping the Synod of compromise or of bucking tradition or at even overturning some or all of the old religion, is now going to backfire, and horribly. Such blatant corruption will not sit well with your fellows, will it?" Jirciv asked.

The pair of heads shook together, "No, no it will not, the old gods services have long been subsumed into the interests of politics, and such blatant attempt at controlling the faith will not sit well with many, siding with the Sorcerer King seems like an act of defiance against corruption, and it is hard to argue otherwise, just as it is hard to argue that he is not the god that Neia Baraja claims he is."

"I do not envy them." Jircniv said.

"Nor do we." The priests agreed.

"So you will allow Argland's attendance?" He asked.

"We will, they are welcome to observe the public debate and the vote, and we may even call them as witnesses if they have special knowledge, but beyond that they will have no control or ability to influence the synod by vote." The elderly priest answered.

"The world is changing so very fast." Jircniv sighed, "For the better I think, but it is not easy to keep up."

The priests actually laughed, "Try it when you're as old as we are young man." They said with a chuckle.

"If we do this right, I won't have to." Jircniv said with a smile, "Thank you for your time, please return to your duties and I hope to speak with you again soon."

The men stood, bowed, and exited his private office.

 _...Re-Estize Kingdom...Throne room..._

Zanac looked deeply troubled, the royal faction was fucked six ways from Sunday, his sister was inconsolable with the loss of Climb, his father was dead, and the idiotic and incompetent faction lead by Philip now had enough power and wealth that if they chose to start a civil war, there wasn't a chance he could stop them without foreign aid, and worse than that, they've been clammoring for closer ties to the Slane Theocracy for reasons that he could only conclude were driven by Theocracy gold. That was Renner's conclusion when she had a short bout of sanity before descending into silent misery again, she pointed out that her attendants had gotten much in the way of theocracy change for purchases, suggesting a large glut of theocracy coin on the marketplace, and pointing out that the incompetent faction's nobles were much better off all of a sudden.

Zanac was not the genius that Renner was, he knew that. But he also knew all to well, as did Marquis Raeven, what this meant for their country. So the two men sat alone in council, while Renner refused to leave her room.

"The people are benefiting from the Sorcerer King's grain and his many attempts at supporting them." Raeven pointed out.

"But the noble faction...including the incompetent ones, are drawing heavily on theocracy gold, they don't care who feeds the common people." Zanac pointed out.

The two sighed in unison. "We are a nation divided against itself." Raeven said.

"Its worse than you think." Zanac said as he leaned in, Raeven leaned closer with a sense of dread.

"My father didn't die, he was murdered, and what's more...well I know what people think of me...but I'm not stupid, I don't think it is a coincidence that the Royal faction's heirs stopped showing up at gatherings, or that the royal faction has stopped acting in support of me, I think they've suffered kidnappings, or perhaps murders, while the noble factions have been bribed, with as many incompetents as there are among them, that had to be easy. My sister knows only about the coin, but as I said...its obviously worse." Zanac wiped his face and slumped forward, exasperated.

"You know, I might have somewhat mistreated that boy Climb in the past, spoken more harshly to him than I should have, but he was a brave one when my father needed him on the Katze Plains, and he was more valuable to keeping my sister stable than I ever realized. If he survives all this, maybe we should give him a noble title, I think there are plenty of estates that are going to end up empty of owners before all is said and done." Zanac said with seriousness and sardonic tones blended together.

Raeven couldn't argue the matter, instead he said softly..."My son was taken too..." Zanac shot up like a bolt of lightning.

"I don't know how, but I know this..we are being pulled towards war, and taking our heirs and families was done so that we would not stand in the way of it. My first thought was that this was the work of the undead, but it is the noble faction that is pulling us in to ally with the Theocracy, while we would prevent it, and so I must conclude that we have only one possible course of action...quietly forge ties with...I hate to say this...truly...the Sorcerer King, he is supporting our people, if we offer vassalization to him in exchange for his support, those idiots might not take us all down with them. Then you can give climb his title, because a lot of those...as you say...will be empty of competing claims."

"I'm surprised to hear that out of you..." Zanac said softly, "After what happened...there..."

Raeven looked away, "I know. Now. At the time we thought we were making the best choice, how could we know otherwise...and yes, the grief was great, I lost my adventurers, I lost many of my people, the King lost his greatest champion. But time mends reason like it does hearts, you know...a long time ago, before my son was born, I wanted the throne. After he was born, my ambition changed." He turned his head back to Zanac in a sudden jerking motion. "My ambition became to create a stable kingdom, one that was strong and prosperous and secure, I'd rather serve in a gilded heaven than be king over a pile of ashes, and now my Kingdom, my home...its all being driven by those zealots who would throw us all into the fire to fight the king who feeds our people. In retrospect the Sorcerer King acted to prevent a larger war, and he refrained from killing more than he had to in order to win completely, and he has done much not only to help us, but to build up those he rules. Between all that...and the taking of my son by what I am certain is Slane Theocracy instruction...I know where my interests truly lie. There must be some way to get a message to him without risking my child's life."

Zanac grimaced, "Perhaps my sister can help, she met the prime minister of the Sorcerer Kingdom and seemed to get on well with her, it may be that they correspond, and it would be nothing unusual if they exchanged letters."

"Then...lets go see her now...if she's not yet functional, then we wait until she is." Raeven said with resignation.

So they walked alone down the long hall to the room of the princess, and after a brief knock, they entered, only to find it empty. "Perhaps she's gone to eat?" Zanac said hopefully, "If so, she should be back soon, we'll just wait here...why are you staring at me?" Zanac said with confusion as he saw the expression on the face of Marquis Raeven.

The Marquis raised his finger and pointed behind Zanac, who turned to see a black hole crackling with power around it, hovering in the middle of the room, and from out of that black hole, stepped a radiant and smiling golden princess. "Brother dear, I'm so glad you came to see me." She said, sporting the obsessive smile that showed them who she truly was behind her gentle mask. "We have a lot to discuss, won't you sit down?"

 **AN: I know, this is short, I had more I wanted to add...but...spoilers...trying to avoid them.**

 **So...think of it as a small vignette and just enjoy that you got a triple today. Reviews are welcome.**


	10. Selected Letters

_…Kami Miyako…Raymond's home…after Zesshi's defection…_

He wept for days when Zesshi left, his depression was deep, and nothing seemed to comfort him, not the matronly warmth of Berenice, not the concern of his loyal servants, who cared deeply for the master of the house. Not the hand of Cardinal Ginedine on his shoulder pleading for him to think of what they should do next. Their conversations with one another had been long, but always centered around one of two things, either Zesshi or the elves.

Alone one day, he chose to try for the impossible. To reach out to his comrade on the other side of the fighting, and to do this, he chose to write a letter…

Dearest Zesshi Zetsumei,

It is my hope that this letter finds you well and happy, for despite everything that transpired, I have always, and will always, value your friendship and your comradeship. I do not write this to you to excuse my nation or its actions, nor do I write this to you to offer excuses for myself in all the ways I failed you when you needed me most, and I do not write this to plead for your return.

Instead I write to you to beg your forgiveness. I gave no thought to the state of the elves, or to the inevitable and inescapable truth that you would sooner or later, be brought to the battlefield to slay your own blood, big and little siblings alike, aunts and uncles, nieces and nephews. I can plead only ignorance of thought in dire times and say that when you brought it to my eyes, I tried to make things right.

With recent events being as they have been, I do not expect this all to end well for my nation or for myself, things since your departure have grown worse, I live in a nightmare as Dominic grows ever more powerful and influential within the city, yet despite this, I have been doing my best to make amends to you from afar, daily I send my servants to the slave auctions, and I seek to purchase elf slaves, seeking most especially after those who are related to the elf king, and are therefore your brothers and sisters. With the scriptures all gone off to the fighting, I was able to acquire their training facilities, barracks, and warehouses, and convert what I could into living spaces, I will not make everything right with you before I die, but I will at least have begun to. And if this war goes as it appears it may, then that end of mine may come by year's end.

Before that happens, you should know where your siblings can be found, so that a rescue effort can be undertaken, I cannot get them out of the city, but it may be that the Sorcerer King can. When my passing comes, I pray you grant these final efforts of mine to be sufficient to forgive me at my grave.

If it matters at all to you, then you should know that the eyes of Berenice and Ginedine have begun to open. Ginedine…you know how he is; he hides in his books away from the world, but at my behest he walked the slave markets, the brothels, the places where your other half was put to use. It sickened him Zesshi, he hunkered over my chamber pot and vomited repeatedly as he described what he saw, and he could not bear it. He has been proposing anti-cruelty measures left and right, but always he is blocked by a draw, I send my vote on these measures from the bed to which I am confined, and Berenice votes with he and I, but Dominic, Yvon, and Maximillian are able to keep any vote from passing that would change things.

Worse, daily Dominic is winning more people to his side, though we can block his worst measures with a draw, just as he can block ours, the population is growing ever more fanatical and the efforts of myself, Ginedine, and Berenice to counter this in public is failing. I greatly fear what the future holds for us if he wins over to much of the population to his views.

I…found one of your siblings in the market during one of my rare outings, a young boy who is certain of who his father is. I purchased your little brother from the slaver. Please know that that is a sentence I despise that I must write…and I brought him to my home. I removed his collar the moment my door closed and swore my staff to silence. As Berenice has spent much time with me, she has grown to know him, he is a sharp-witted boy, name Ananaeus, and they are quite fond of one another, she dotes upon him as one would a favored nephew. Daily she expresses regret for having failed to see what she did not only to you, but to your people, after a time I grew to trust her, and she has also begun to assist me in 'acquiring' elf captives from the market. Ginedine has not expressed the same sentiment himself, yet I believe it eats at him.

Yesterday he asked me, "Why would the gods choose as their favored people, any who could do these things…?" To which I could only say, "Perhaps they didn't." I have a firm and growing hope that I will soon be able to draw him in to the same effort as Berenice and myself.

Zesshi Zetsumei, my friend, my comrade, the daughter I never had, I am truly lost in ways I never imagined I could be, the only direction of which I am certain of is the direction that makes up for our wrongs towards you.

I do not know if this letter will reach you, as it will have to be dispatched in secret, and with enough coin paid to the messenger to let him retire for the rest of his natural life; as he must risk being detained by both our own forces, and being slain as a spy by those of the Sorcerer King…but if it does reach you, know that my thoughts are never far from you, and my regrets are never far from me.

Forever your comrade, no matter the battle lines,

Cardinal Raymond Zarg Lauransan

 _…Zesshi Zetsumei's command tent…_

Zesshi was content, she might even be depicted as feeling a bit smug. She touched her armor, it was beautifully crafted material, solid black scale mail with a red chain painted around the body, the rune smiths had worked overtime to customize her equipment, tailored to her strengths, and she bore a scythe that the gods themselves would have envied, far exceeding the power of what she had thought was the penultimate weapon that she had previously held. Her black boots were adamantite laid over leather, and though she was not one for the bow, slung over her back was a half sized quiver which held darts. Her time in Nazarick exposed her to the fighting style of Black Justice, and she found that it was almost tailor made for her use, minus the bow, which she never favored. Though she adapted that by darts which she could throw with great strength. The Sorcerer King had even demonstrated his overwhelming divine might by freezing time, so that she might train with an instructor, though he refused to say how long it had been when she asked.

Now here she was, elf volunteers were flocking to her banner and every day they marched, they grew stronger. They were all very weak compared to her, however the chance, a real chance, at ending the nightmare that plagued their country, was all they really needed to give them the will to fight. So she would march them for twenty miles, drill them for hours with the assistance of a handful of Black Justice instructors following the guidance of something they called "The Blue Book" for how to maneuver their forces.

She had never had to really be responsible for anything, or anyone but herself, save for the occasional comrade on a mission, however now she found herself responsible for thousands of men and women, and that…did hurt her head a bit, however with some support from logistical officers, she found her feet little by little as they moved along. Daily they got better, and observing them from improvised raised platforms, she could not help but be impressed by the crispness of their motion, the confidence they gained in themselves, and the degree of unity that was forged among them, they did not fight vaingloriously for individual reputation, they had begun to act as fingers on a hand, each supporting the other in the forming of a fist.

For years they had lived in constant fear of their own king, now they lived with constant faith in a new one. For all their lives the Elf King had seemed untouchably powerful, now with Zesshi and the backing of the Sorcerer King, they believed he could be crushed under heel, their spirits grew and she began to see smiles form and bonds take shape, it made Zesshi smile more than a little too, for all her oddities, the members of the Black Scripture had been friends, comrades, and those bonds were not easily forgotten.

As she sat in her command tent, she drew out a quill and began to write…

Dearest Sister,

How I love that I can use those words, Aorli, I hope that this letter finds you on a happy day, with sun on your neck and a breeze in your hair. I have no doubt that you labor diligently for the wellbeing of our people, and I was overjoyed to learn that you had taken a place on the city council. I am certain that you will find yourself to be more than capable of fulfilling your obligations inherent in that role, and that you will gain the respect and confidence of your peers and subordinates alike. I, for my part, thrive in ways I never imagined. Life in Kami Miyako may not have been all bad for me, but far away, much removed from its walls, I find that a darkness is lifted that I never truly knew I was carrying within me. My time in the service of the Sorcerer King has been short thus far, but it has been proud. Our people are of vigorous spirit and eager to fight to drive out or destroy the elf king, and every day we draw closer to that goal. I drill them hard, and the assistants that Neia Baraja sent to me are beyond valuable. It seems so strange to me still, one of them is a vampire, and most of the rest are humans, and there are a handful of elves, to see us all in the same uniform, humans giving directions to elves, and the elves choosing to obey not because the humans will hurt them, but because the humans will make them stronger…I never imagined such a world.

And a vampire, becoming an advisor to me…I do not know which is stranger…that…or me taking on a role that required an advisor in the first place? I'm a battle maniac, only ever thinking of my next one on one challenge. It makes me laugh to think of it now, but perhaps having at last been defeated…yes it happened, the boy Mare…who oddly enough dresses like a girl, threw me around like a rag doll…perhaps having finally been defeated and having achieved half my desire has tempered me a little. At the very least I now know how Climb felt all those times.

Remember all the thrashings I gave that stubborn blonde runt? Well when the Sorcerer King called over Mare, I said I can't get pregnant by a girl, and in his high pitched girlish voice he said 'I'm a boy.' It was the single oddest moment of my life. I said, 'Bring it on little guy' and expected to be disappointed yet again.

Yet before I could even react, he was looking up at me with those beautiful heterochromatic eyes of his and he'd smacked me in the face with his staff. I went sailing back wondering exactly what had just happened, even while I was jumping back up to my feet and activating every martial art I knew, he was already to me again, this time beside me and he swept his staff at the back of my knee, I tried to roll away from him only for him to smack me in the side of my head with the back of his hand and send me rolling away anyway. I'd never eaten dirt before…but let me tell you sister, even in the realm of the gods, dirt tastes like defeat!

I rolled onto my back and jumped back up and came at him with my fist, he'd somehow snatched away my weapon and thrown it behind him like a disposable rag…when my fist came close, he snatched my wrist and began to fling me around as if he were going to throw me like a stone in a sling, only to smash me on the ground…over and over again, until he asked the Sorcerer King how long he had to do that for. He sounded bored…BORED.

Now I know how I must have sounded to Climb, I'll have to give him an apology for calling him weak so often, I don't know what hurt worse, my body or my pride. Eventually this little elf boy in a dress decided to let go, and he chucked me all the way into the center of the lake, leaving me to trudge out of it wet, dirty, and barely able to stand, I hadn't even had both feet on shore yet when I saw him flying towards me again, his staff going towards my head once again, when the Sorcerer King called a halt, and I fell down, to my face, to tired and bruised to get up.

Mare was very nice about it, and healed me straight away, for a nervous sounding boy in a dress, he's very strong, and I can't help but wonder if this whole thing is some divine punishment for saying I didn't care how twisted the one who defeated me was…now I'm going to have to win him over to me when he grows up and I admit I'm wondering, should I be successful, that night will we both be taking off dresses…and who would look better in them before hand? I'd like to say Aorli, that I am joking about that last part, yet even though I want to say I am…I honestly do not know.

I admit it all still seems very strange still, but then, we live in interesting times, and those are almost always strange ones I should think. Though through all this, I think these strange times, these interesting times, these hard times, are going to bring about better ones, for all of us, and I just have to do my part to make sure that is what happens.

We'll reach No Man's Sea soon and taking ship from there to begin the end of things that were, and make something new, something better, over the foundations of the old. When everything is done, I will come to see you again, so until that time, stay alive, stay safe, and lets see this through together, even if we are many miles apart.

Your sister,

Zesshi Zetsumei

 _…Arwinter…Office of the High Priest…_

High Priest Sudon was an old man who did not feel his age, having consumed a drink made from Idun's apples, he felt twenty or thirty years younger than he was, and that was the smallest of the miracles he had experienced in Nazarick. The art lesson alone…tens of thousands of years of human creation, all preserved in a divine realm that was like nothing any mortal could produce, the intricacy, the glory, the boundless knowledge…and the sacred text assembled by Neia Baraja…it was obviously an early version, one produced under the stresses of the conflicts in which she found herself, yet it spoke to his spirit in ways he had not expected, and behind it was a figure who was divinity made manifest.

The truth was he wondered why they were even bothering with a Synod, there was only one answer, a new god had descended to the world, and was creating a new golden age before his very eyes. If the vigor of his body held, as he believed it would, then he would live long enough to see it to its fruition.

It was with this in his mind that he sat down to write to his fellow priests around the empire. Months ago, the messages had all gone out, well before the war, and priests everywhere had been responding, even those not of the faith, the Argland council, had asked to send an observer, something the Sorcerer King had encouraged them to accept.

Now, as the months drew on, he felt the need to make his own position known, and so he sat down to write.

To my fellow priests, and to the faithful of the gods, I, Sudan of Arwinter, write to you today in the hopes that despite the harshness of conflict, your lives are not overly bleak and that you retain your optimism that this conflict will end and peace will return to the land.

Over the course of my years of life, I have always been devoted to the gods, not because the gods required me to be, or even because it was proper to venerate them, but rather because I served my people, all people, through my service to the gods, if gods have any purpose, it is the guidance of the people into what must be done to live rightly and well, and in providing their followers with the security and safety necessary to do so, or at the very least, providing the people with the strength and wisdom to secure themselves.

Perhaps to some of you this is a shock, yet why should it be? What would any god require from us that they could not provide for themselves, do we think the gods to be so petty and vain that they require veneration, worship, and submission simply for the selfish smugness of having those heaped upon them? Are they so weak and insecure that they require our constant praise lest they question their self worth? Are they so egotistical that they can think of no higher duty than to offer worship to they who, as gods, would not need it for any purpose?

No. I think not. Such beings would be thought of as base and degraded, petty beings if they were men, how much more lowly would such traits be if it came from beings we would call divine?

It is therefore incumbent upon us to think upon the lives of more fragile mortals, and ask what truly tends to them, and what it is to be a god in relation to mortal lives. Is a god not meant to be responsible? If so, then the Sorcerer King surely fits this role, did he not destroy the Demon Emperor Jaldabaoth? Where were the old gods when their followers called for aid?

Have you not read or heard the reports of the power displayed by the demon emperor, are these not far beyond the very beings that were called demon gods themselves? Yet the Sorcerer King defeated him, and did so easily when at full power, and did he not sacrifice of his power to protect humanity from the demon emperor's wrath? What other measure of power need there be than what was done for humanity on the day of their deliverance?

I have moved through his realm and seen the ancient glories of humanity, works of magnificence that are thousands of years beyond our memory, all preserved in his divine abode, showing me the belief he holds in the promise of our future and of ourselves, it is one thing my fellows, to believe in the power of a god. But it is a whole other thing entirely to have a GOD THAT BELIEVES IN YOU!

That is what we stand to gain if we do the only thing that needs to be done, confirm the truth that so many have already seen for themselves! Those who call themselves Black Justice, the followers of Neia Baraja, were the first to see what should be clear to all of us, that he who has the power of a god, who makes the choices of a god, who takes the role of a god, who is a river of life and learning and hope for all his followers, who stands at the pinnacle of wisdom and sagacity, must surely be a god. How can he be all the things that a god is…and yet not be a god? I ask you this as I had asked myself, and came to no other answer but that he must surely be one.

I do not pretend to know where he stands with the six, if he is another god entirely or if he truly is greater than they as his many followers have come to assert, but I do know this…

That all the things the six are said by history to have done for humanity…he is doing again, bringing prosperity and peace to his people, bringing strength to his followers, and he is doing it not for one corner of the world, but rather he is doing it for all the world we know.

That is god enough for me.

Forever faithful,

Sudon, High Priest of Arwinter

 **AN: Well its been awhile since I did a Memory & a Message update, I thought it was time, this one is the toughest one to update because it is a retrospective story, and I need lots of events to happen before one of these chapters can be written, otherwise I'll create spoilers. Anyway, thanks for reading, I hope you enjoy it. If you appreciate the effort that goes in to these stories, you can donate to my charity organization bdgiving dot org, and if you want early access and other fun stuff like live reading sand a supportive and positive community of fellow Overlord fans, you can join my discord server.**


	11. In Many Eyes

_...Slane Theocracy...North of Crossroads…_

"You don't have to do those, you know. -su" Lupusregina said as she set two cups of tea down on the crude field desk that General Enri was using, when Enri had hers, she took a seat opposite her ward, her friend.

"Thank you." Enri said as she took a sip and put her seal on a document. "Yes I do, however. I ordered these people out, the least I can do is put my seal to the notice of their current status. Can you imagine how horrible their families would feel, never knowing what happened to someone they loved? I'm sure they'd never stop waiting for them to come home. I wouldn't like that, and I won't inflict it." She said firmly.

Lupusregina shrugged. "If you say so." She said and picked up her own cup, she propped her feet up on the corner of Enri's desk and drank casually. "Doesn't hurt me any I guess, so do what you want. -su"

Enri rolled her eyes. Lupu often made her do that. This time though, she set down her seal and the document and looked at the red headed beauty.

"Lupu, we're friends, right?" Enri said.

"Yes." Lupusregina said without hesitation.

"How would you feel if… say, I died out here?" She asked the maid.

Lupusregina's eyes went a shiny gold and hard as iron. "That won't happen. I won't let it."

"But what if I did?" Enri asked emphatically.

Lupusregina calmly set down her tea and clasped her hands over her stomach. "Alright." She said in a rare serious voice.

Enri cocked her head to one side and looked at her expectantly.

Lupusregina looked at her quietly for a long moment, and then said bluntly, "I'd probably get off on it."

Enri was very quiet. Lupusregina was not done talking.

"But. I'd miss you very much. I'd mourn you. I'd ask Lord Ainz to bring you back if it were possible, and if it weren't, I'd look after Nemu and Kuuderika and N'firia for you. But you really want to know? I'd get off on it first." Lupusregina looked at her with a calm expression on her face.

Enri wasn't sure if she should be hurt, offended, moved, comforted, or disgusted. The answer was so contradictory and absurd that she had no idea what to make of it all. A complex array of emotions ran across her face.

"You…" Enri started to say, and Lupusregina interrupted.

"Don't get me wrong, I like you a lot, you're my best friend in the outside world, I'd protect you even if I was told I didn't 'have' to do so. But I will always be as my creator shaped me, and that is to enjoy suffering, even, or perhaps especially, in the ones I like. I don't know why he made me the way I am, but I can't feel differently." Lupusregina said it calmly and plainly, then took up her tea again and resumed drinking.

Enri relaxed a bit, her followup explanation was… strange but comprehensible. "I see. That actually explains a lot now that you put it that way. I guess I can forgive you some weird orgasmic bliss if you have no choice about it, long as you'd miss me afterwards… and there goes another sentence I never imagined saying." Enri said, sighed, and rubbed her forehead.

Lupu snickered. "You shouldn't ask questions you don't really want answers to, it's all your fault you know. -su" Her grin was wolfish as she spoke, "Though as far as taking care of N'firia first, well maybe you and I should practice first so I know what to do, from what I could hear in there you two are experts by now. -su" Lupusregina burst out laughing as Enri blushed a strawberry red.

"Damn it Lupu! Stay the hell away from my bedroom window, I don't need 'guarding' then!" Enri said in a deeply embarrassed voice.

Lupusregina was still laughing when Enri picked up the next document, and her own laughter died.

The maid stopped laughing when she saw Enri's face. "What?" She asked.

Enri swallowed. "This is Goan's mother." She said.

"Moira, right?" Lupusregina asked.

Enri nodded. "Yeah, Moira, she… she was one of the volunteers to lead Boabdil's army away from Ikari City."

"You didn't know?" Lupusregina asked in surprise.

Enri shook her head, "No, I left it in the hands of companies to accept volunteers, the names didn't have to come up to me, only the numbers to make sure we had enough, I didn't know she'd volunteered for this, what the hell was she thinking?!" Enri all but shouted and threw her teacup to the ground, shattering it in the dirt. "She's got a son damnit! She's his only living parent! What's he supposed to do now?!" Enri's voice rose to a shout and she pounded a fist on the table, then she shot to her feet put her hand over her forehead and put her back to Lupusregina as she stepped away from the desk. She started pacing.

"She was trying to honor a debt to the Sorcerer King." Lupusregina said firmly.

"She did that by volunteering here in the first place, she didn't have to take on a damn suicide mission!" Enri snapped.

Lupusregina went strangely quiet. "Calm down, Enri." She said after a moment. "Dying for the cause of a Supreme Being is the most noble and honorable way for a life to end." Her tone was serious, even… corrective.

"Then honor has its victims, victims that shouldn't have to be." Enri retorted.

Lupus went quiet when she saw the hurt on Enri's face, and let her continue.

"You don't understand Lupu. You know if it came to it, I'd die for this the same as you, I believe in him, I owe him everything, he's the only king or god I've ever seen that is worth dying for." Enri said softly and Lupusregina's expression relaxed some, but Enri continued, "You know what happened to… us, but you weren't there. My mother and father, died saving Nemu and me, we got away, you know how the Sorcerer King saved us. We're always grateful for that. But later, do you know what happened to us later?" She asked in a small voice.

"No." Lupusregina replied, she finished her tea and set the cup down.

"Nemu knew our parents had died, and then, well I had to become her mother and her father. I was part of a family of four, I was a daughter and a sister, then it was a family of two, and I had to become a mother, a father, and a sister. And every day, every single day for months, Nemu would call for or look for her mother and father. She watched them die fighting to save us, but she still couldn't truly grasp what had happened. Goan is… strange, very different from her, but he's still just a young boy, and his mother was all he had. He's got no uncles, he's got no aunts. He's got no sisters or brothers, so now what happens to him?" Enri asked.

"He's blessed by the Sorcerer King, he'll be taken care of. He won't end up in a pit somewhere like Kuuderika, and nobody will be struggling to take care of him like you did with Nemu. It might be a big blow, but he'll have the most powerful, dangerous, educated, intelligent, wise, and caring body of pseudo-aunts and uncles scrambling to look after him for the rest of his life. He caused quite a stir from what I hear. So feel bad if you want, I won't say you're wrong, but don't worry about his future, alright? -su." She smiled a little reassuringly at Enri.

The Grand Matriarch calmed herself and sat back down, she put her seal to the document to be sent home and then looked at Lupusregina. "I'd rather he not have to wait for weeks to find this out, can you… can you do me a favor and send a message back. I'll send the official notice out with the others, but the least I can do is ask this little bit extra for him."

"Sure thing, I'll do it right now. I can guess where he probably is. -su" Lupusregina said.

 _...Arwintar…_

Jircniv collapsed under his wife as they finished together. "Jinx, you owe me some wine." She said with a laugh as her breasts pressed against his chest.

He laughed in turn, "Not from down here I don't." He replied, and she rolled off of him.

He got up and stretched, then went to the cart nearby and poured them each a glass, he returned the wine bottle to the cart, then walked back to the bed and handed one glass to her.

She sat herself up against the head of the bed, neither bothered to cover anything. They'd memorized it all anyway. "Thank you." She said, and took a sip.

"So, you really think this war is about to take a turn?" She asked.

"I do." He said. "The Slane Theocracy has been spilling blood everywhere and not only do they have nothing to show for it other than more enemies, but they're also losing allies and land. The good news in all this is that we've performed exceptionally well, we've achieved every objective with minimal losses and played our role to the hilt, as the Sorcerer King's most long standing and most effective allies, I really expect we'll draw a lot out of this for our people."

She twirled her hair in one finger thoughtfully, "What about the Synod after all this is over?" She asked. "If the priests of the empire are not on board after everything that has happened, then it would be a real embarrassment if, after everything, the Baharuth Empire's temples voted in the greatest numbers against the deification of our lord."

That made Emperor Jircniv go silent for a moment. His mind raced. "That is a good point, I know we have the most highly placed priests on our side, but they can't 'command' the temples of the empire any more than I can." He said uncomfortably.

"So, what do we do to ensure things go the way we want them to?" She asked.

"Well, for starters we need to know where things stand, so we start surveying the Empire, find out where the strongest anti-undead sentiment lies. If there is a lot of it, we start pumping out positive information and shipping in undead laborers to those areas to make people comfortable." He said as ideas began to storm into his head.

"That might be somewhat effective." She said as she finished her glass and offered it out to him to refill. He refilled both and returned it to her. "But maybe we should think about getting rid of some of the more vocal, and hostile priests, people die every day, and if a few of the ones on the wrong side of this disappear…" She shrugged, "Well like I said, people die every day."

"You know," he said, "I often wonder, if all tombstones read just the facts, under the 'cause of death' how many would have the phrase 'Died of being an inconvenience to the powerful'?"

She laughed, "Too many in some eras, not enough in others."

"Not that I mind that in principle, but it is a little obvious, isn't it?" He asked. "And if people pick up on a pattern, well that could cause problems for His Majesty down the line, and I do not want to be responsible for that." He said, and they shared a vigorous shaking of their heads.

"Of course, some things are riskier than others, once we identify the priests who would most likely vote against his deification, we do have options. The senior priests who are on our side can have those dispatched to the front lines, after Re-Estize falls, I'm sure our soldiers will all be going south to face off against the Slane Theocracy, if they're at the front, they'll be exposed to the benefits of his rule and some may change their minds, and the ones who don't, well it is a war, and in those, 'lots' of people die every day. Easy enough to let war do the work for us." He said.

"This is why I love you." She said with a smile, and she finished the glass and set it aside. Her arms and legs opened for him once again as he finished his own glass and set it down as well.

"Come back to bed, if you can manage it." She said archly.

"And that is why I love you too." He said wickedly and got on top of her again, their lips closed to kiss as their arms and legs entwined once more.

 _...Lizardman Village…_

Crusch Lulu was happy, she missed her husband. But they could still trade letters, and she was enjoying the process of writing another.

"Dearest Husband,

It has been months since last I've seen you, though I am grateful for your many letters, it is your embrace I miss the most. Our child is well, healthy, strong. He is asking about you often, and I always tell him you are away making him safer, making a better world for him. I'm very proud of all you've done and all you continue to do, and I of course am also doing my best for the village.

The road is completed now, we can travel on dry land to the mountains of the dwarves or to E-Rantel or even to the Empire without getting our feet wet. The quagoa workers did a marvelous job, as did the dwarf engineers. Between the two, the undead labor of the Sorcerer King, and our own local knowledge of the ecology, not only do we now have easy routes to the most important trading areas for miles and miles around, but people are using them. We see new merchants all the time, and small waystation areas are set up around every twenty miles. The young ones who are too young to fight, but old enough to work, have been running those, and we're establishing fish farms and small green houses like from those books at all of them. This way we can feed, house, and profit from travelers from all over.

Perhaps more importantly, the big fisheries are doing amazingly, your invention may have changed our world, but with the improvements of the Sorcerous Kingdom's knowledge, they're doing even better. The ground elevation methods have allowed us to build even more, and the deeper pool areas have doubled as new areas for additional fish farms.

You may be out there fighting to change the world, but the world you're coming home to is already changing, I know you'll be proud of everything we've accomplished while you've been away, and I can't wait to show you, not only that… but just how much I've missed you.

Yours in war and peace,

Crusch Lulu"

 _...Guild Headquarters...E-Rantel…_

Ainzach was happy. In fact one could say he was very happy, and had only grown more so as the years of the Sorcerer King's rule had continued. He had multiracial teams of adventurers who compensated for each other's weaknesses. He hadn't seen a great team of high potential die before they'd reached it in… well not since the training dungeon started to go into full time use and the vastly improved equipment was issued out to teams of the appropriate skill level.

The days of the old system grinding potential up and spitting it out were done, most of the guild was empty at the moment, many teams had been contracted for service in the Roble Holy Kingdom to protect people from violence by religious fanatics and… there had been some casualties, but even with that, they were very few and none had come from 'his' guild. The casualties among adventurers had come from those hired under the old system out of Re-Estize.

The system His Majesty had derived was proving itself by leaps and bounds to be vastly superior, and now his dreams were all come true, they had, to use the words that he had engraved upon his heart by his majesty himself years and years ago, 'become adventurers'.

Now he had a new task, he had to select a few teams for expeditions, and he couldn't be happier about it. Several teams to go far to the south, beyond the land of the elves, to explore the mountainous regions and beyond. A team to go to the far west, beyond the borders of the Baharuth Empire, to explore the mountains and act as representatives to the Karnasus City State Alliance. Perhaps most exciting, a team to go to the Understone Empire, to explore an unknown chasm which exuded both magic and mystery. And two teams to take ship on the great sea and sail off into the unknown, all expeditions were being fully funded by the Sorcerer King himself. Every expedition was going to be 'insured' so that any member of any team who died, would leave behind them wealth enough that they not only be properly honored, but that any surviving spouses or children would not only avoid being left in poverty, but could live richly for the rest of their days. This was an enormous incentive by itself, in addition to the promise of custom crafted gear made especially for those teams who accepted the jobs.

What made it even more exciting was that the Sorcerer King had provided the designs for ships that could handle voyages lasting several months, which made what were impossible voyages, seem almost trivially easy, if there was in fact anything out there other than an endless sea.

Yes, Ainzach was happy beyond words, and even with all the news of war and strife that came through his guild, he had every reason to be nothing but optimistic about tomorrow. He looked at the stack of applicant documents volunteering for those first great expeditions and began to thumb through them, as he put his seal of approval on the application for 'Darkness' to visit the chasm, all he could think was, 'Yes, it is a wonderful time to be alive.'

 **AN: Been awhile since I've been to this story, lots to do lots to do, reviews welcome. :)**


	12. Reason & Revenge

_...Arwintar..._

Jircniv sat with the priests of his empire in a great room. On the walls sat portraits of priests and emperors past, not all, but great men, down to when they were but kings and a priest counted himself great if he had a building with a single room that could hold two hundred souls, art had improved, and representations were now, near perfect.

But nothing compared to the one they now looked at. A single gift, something given to them by the Sorcerer King. The priests and the emperor all gathered together arrayed with His Majesty at the center, clasping the hand of the Emperor as one might a brother, the unity of royals... but it was like no painting anyone had ever seen. An art of Nazarick had made it in an instant, no lines or flaws, just 'them' as they had been, in age and youth, in nobility and wisdom.

For those who loved their history and past, who remembered the stories of those who came before, it had been a poignant moment that had moved many almost to tears to see it so.

"Amazing. Truly... amazing. Isn't it." Jircniv said with eyes more gentle than any had ever seen it, his hand lovingly caressed the sheen of the unusual paper on which the image had appeared.

"Truly." Sudon replied with equal awe and wonder in his voice. Though older than Jircniv by many years, he had the vigor of a man twenty years his junior, a consequence, the emperor recalled, of his mild consumption of the wine made from Idun's Apples over a year before. "To think I should live, to see things become as they are..."

A rumbling of agreement passed around the room.

"But you did not ask to meet with me just so that we could look at this... what was the word... 'photograph' together, did you, ladies and gentlemen?" Jircniv asked calmly.

Sudon reluctantly looked away from the marvelous gift, "Are you behind the deaths?"

"Well, so we're going to be blunt, are we?" Jircniv asked with some relief.

He folded one hand over the other and then nodded firmly. "I am. But not how you mean."

There were many narrowed eyes and furrowed brows facing him, but the Bloody Emperor did not flinch.

"I did not kill a single one of them, I merely put them into positions where they could 'get' killed, helped the process along, if you care to think of it that way." Jircniv explained patiently, then inclined his head in acknowledgement, "Clever of you to realize it, I honestly didn't think you would."

"Why? These men and women were loyal to the empire." High Priest Sudon said unhappily.

"No, they were loyal to the old gods, the old ways, they were hateful towards His Majesty and were only slightly more tolerant of the existence of demihumans than the Slane Theocracy. I couldn't let them see the end of the war, because they would sow the seeds of our destruction or the destruction of vast numbers." Jircniv clenched one hand over the other on the table.

"I do what needs to be done for the security of the empire, if those men and women had been left to their own devices, they would have incited rebellion, if not in their lifetime, then it would be in the next one. They were the roots of weeds that would have sullied the garden of our empire, I simply tore them out before they could do so." Emperor Jircniv said with icy calmness and absolute courtesy.

"How do you know this?" The High Priest asked with a growing suspicion.

Jircniv confirmed that suspicion quickly. "I have my own intelligence agency you know, true I might not have the resources of His Majesty, but it is more than enough to send visitors to temples around the empire to sit in on their rituals and listen to the priests talk. The ones who give anti-undead sermons or speak of demihumans or heteromorphs as beings to be exterminated, are definitely going to cause problems for me, you, and everyone later. Just as importantly, they would definitely vote against his divinity at the Synod. Suppose the vote fails, or even if it wins, but our lands have the lowest numbers of priestly supporters. You have seen his generosity, his nobility, he is a river to his people, but he is also a terrible flood who sweeps away those who bar his way."

The room was very quiet as the implications of what he'd just said swept over the room like the chill winter wind that was now blowing outside their warm, light stone lit room.

"I will see this nation prosper, and anyone who bars that way or would bar that way must not be permitted to continue as they are." Jircniv said with the resolute hardness of spirit that had made him the man who was the Bloody Emperor.

The High Priest 'blinked' first in the staring match that followed. "You can... prove this... ah... future treason?" He asked uncomfortably.

"Yes." Jircniv said with iron clad certainty. The nervous looks and darting gazes of the others told him that they were shocked at his claim. A part of his inner mighty mind smiled at the question that might have been intended to throw him off and justify some demand for recompense or a later retaliation.

"I had their sermons all recorded, just because I did not expect you to work out what I'd done, does not mean I would not have prepared for the eventuality, you ladies and gentlemen, have all reached the same conclusion I have. This god is rising over the world, I would have us at his side or at his back, not in his path. Do you want us to be another Slane Theocracy one day? Because I do not." A collective shudder ran through their ranks.

Jircniv continued to hammer the point home, "Suppose I had done nothing, and ten years from now those priests stirred the population up into a frenzy of anti-undead behavior, maybe they convince a few great warriors, they get their own 'Remedios' and they start going around attacking the followers of the Sorcerer King. Just what do you think will happen?"

The High Priest was quiet, he looked at his fellows, they were silent too. "I-I don't know."

"I do." Jircniv replied calmly. "I met the one who would do it. And that is if we're lucky, and from what I hear, things are worse." He took a deep breath, and then told them of the things said in his briefings on the state of the war, the destruction of cities, the slaughter of armies, he watched their faces transform from angry and concerned, to more than a little wary.

"It's gotten so even the other generals are using that one as a threat, and are raising questions in their reports higher. General Nimble has sent me no fewer than three different letters imploring me to do whatever it takes to keep another war at bay after this one ends. You all know him, he's a good man, even a pious one inasmuch as any warrior in the Empire is. If he's telling me this, I take it seriously, and I hope you do too." Jircniv finished speaking, and waited for any response they may make.

Sudon suddenly looked his age again, face wrinkled and careworn, as if the weight of his office was bearing down on him once more. "I... see. My Emperor, we have supported you for years for more reasons than your power, but because you governed well and wisely, learning this was... distressing, and we would like to see the sermons of which you speak. However... these are priestly matters and you have always left those to us. Therefore I would ask that for all others, you leave it in our hands. We have trusted you, will you now trust us?"

Jircniv wanted to slap himself. 'OK well now that puts me quite on the spot, doesn't it? I can't very well say no without permanently breaking faith with the temples that are the foundation of spiritual life here in the Empire, and the last thing I want before the Synod is for they and I to be opposed to one another. I suppose I'm not the only competent ruler of men. But I don't have to give him everything either.' He thought to himself as the moment stretched, and this time, the Bloody Emperor 'blinked'.

Jircniv spoke with a mindful courtesy, firm, but also conciliatory as his gaze met one set of eyes after another before they came back to those of the elderly High Priest. "You're right, I will. I will give you my list of all remaining 'concerning' priests. Along with copies of the sermons that put them on that list. You can handle them as you think best, defrock them, transfer them out of the way, figure out 'something' that will keep them from posing problems in the future. However..." Jircniv kept his hands on the table, one folded over the other, but raised his pointer finger up from that position to make his conditional offering, "you must swear on your lives, your families lives, your temples and your offices, that if you find one with whom you cannot settle matters, you will report them to me for a more direct and permanent solution."

'Not for nothing is he our emperor, such a clever way to give to me, while also keeping back that control that concerned me so. Now if I don't accept his offer, I'll look even to my colleagues as if I'm trying to engage in a power grab to put us above the emperor or worse... above the Sorcerer King. Or even look like I might be sympathetic to the cause of those dissidents. Well, I wrangled more than I expected from the clever emperor... I think I shouldn't push it further than I have.' Sudon thought to himself as he admired the political adroitness of the ruler of the Baharuth Empire.

"I accept, and suggest that we begin to meet regularly, say once a week, to go over these concerns at least until after the Synod has taken place." Sudon proposed.

A smile graced the Emperor's face. "I think that would be very productive, alright, I'll arrange it with my secretary." He replied.

The tension in the room melted away. Jircniv however, decided to probe for information to satisfy his curiosity and allay a lingering concern. "If there's nothing else... just out of curiosity, I assume you're in contact with temples around the Sorcerer King's domain... how are they responding to events? And on a related note, are you speaking with the temples of Black Justice that have been springing up?"

The fact that Sudon's body was relaxed after both questions was a quiet relief to the emperor. "Favorable. In the Draconic Kingdom, temples began to spring up after the official founding in Hoburns, but a number of the old gods temples were already including him in the pantheon on their own, covertly at least, after he solved the problem with the Beastmen. Re-Estize is slower on the change, but the public reveal of the Slane Theocracy's involvement created a 'lot' of cynicism about the old religion. As a result, some temples there aren't waiting for the Synod either. And you've probably become familiar with the state of the Roble Holy Kingdom. The Southern Holy Kingdom will probably not even send representatives, but if they do, I expect they'll be quiet and run away as soon as they cast their vote. The Northern Holy Kingdom has all but abandoned the old gods completely. But do you know what is really interesting?" The High Priest asked with a broad smile forming on his face.

"What?" Jircniv asked, leaning in as if to hear a marvelous and juicy secret.

"The temples that were heretically adding the Sorcerer king on their own, have seen a rise in attendance by nonhuman worshipers, our priests have reported an abundance on the military marches, and a lot of the little towns they've been to that are seeing the start of reconstruction efforts paid for by the Sorcerer King, are seeing the same thing. The independent Black Justice temples are somewhat more standoffish towards us than I'd like... but after Remedios, the Slane Theocracy, and their inquisitors... I don't blame them. They aren't hostile to us at least." He cracked his withered knuckles as he made a fist, "But... "

"But?" The Emperor pressed, furrowing his brow at the unexpected hesitation.

"I still believe in the six, of course there are those Black Justice heretics who insist that the Sorcerer King is Surshana's father, but they're a minority and have not challenged any doctrine, but the real problem is finding a use for the temples as we are. True I have come to believe in His Majesty, but I do not accept he alone as divine. As our temples change however, and he becomes our seventh, I am fearful of conflict between those who say he alone is divine. Too, I fear the potential irrelevance of the temples we have, we need new sources of income for those who do not immediately change or never do, or they will become desperate... and as we know from the example of the Slane Theocracy, a religious order that becomes desperate, becomes dangerous." Sudon cautioned the emperor and let his hands fall open from where they rested on the table, as if to emphasize the gravity of such a potential series of schisms.

"That... could be a problem, I'll bring it up to Neia Baraja and His Majesty at our next meeting." Jircniv replied as he stood.

The priests stood and bowed to the Bloody Emperor. "Thank you for meeting with us, My Lord." The High Priest said gratefully as he took the picture the Sorcerer King had posed them all together to take, then brought it to the wall and hung it at the head of the table.

It was still hanging there three centuries later.

 _...Nazarick..._

"What is the last thing you remember?" Demiurge asked the head of Remedios Custodio.

"An undead worshiping bitch driving her sword through my throat." Remedios said groggily. Demiurge smiled approvingly from behind her.

"How's she doing?" His assistant asked curiously as she walked into the room.

"Fine, everything is normal, she's groggy, and her vision hasn't returned yet, but once the blood starts flowing more, that should change." Demiurge replied.

"Oh, goody." Golden fingers clapped together happily, creating a little clicking noise as her talons clattered together.

"Why... can't I feel my legs, or arms... or anything...?" Remedios slurred out and tried, and failed, to move her head.

"Can you open your eyes yet?" Vanysa asked with interest as she came closer.

"I... I can move them, things are... starting to clear up." Remedios replied, "Please, tell me what happened, is the bitch dead, how am I alive, where am I?! Who are you?!" Her voice began to grow tense, anxious.

Remedios felt the gentle touch of pads of fingers caress her cheek. "Don't worry, when your eyes function, you'll understand." The voice was so kind, so sweet, she felt herself relaxing. "You should be able to open them soon, this just takes a little while, I'd hurry it if I could, but I can't. So please forgive me, but you'll understand soon. Oh, and my name is Vanysa, just call me by that, and I'll explain everything to you when your senses come back."

The sweet voice sounded so kind and apologetic that... she just couldn't say no, it was almost childlike in it's gentle apologetic tone, that Remedios could only sigh and relax. "Alright, alright... I... don't like this though."

"I understand... just be patient." Vanysa said again.

An hour later, her eyes began to flutter open, blurry shapes began to come into focus. She saw the gold skin, batlike wings, horns, fangs, talons, and Remedios, no coward even at her most desperate, tried to move, but found all she could do was rock her head around, that was when she cast her eyes down, and screamed.

"Ah, I see she's fully aware now." Demiurge said from behind her.

"Where is my body?! Why am I only a head?! Where's the rest of me?! What have you done, demoness! Are you one of Jaldabaoth's servants?! Are you..." The talons darted out and the golden face turned wrathful, talons pierced Remedios's tongue and held it fast.

'Well, I guess she's not technically wrong... in a way.' Demiurge thought to himself.

"You will use my name, and nothing else, to address, me, or I will tear out your tongue, heal it, and repeat, over and over again until you learn it." The demoness hissed out. "Now be silent, and we will explain everything."

After she released her grip, Remedios closed her mouth tightly as if to prevent those fingers from returning.

"Now, you are alive because we spent the last few months trying to find a way to keep heads alive independently." Demiurge said from behind her, he drummed his fingers over and over atop her head as he spoke, she rocked and shook under his touch, but could do nothing to dislodge him.

"It wasn't easy, there were lots of failures, we tried it on all kinds of bodies." Vanysa picked up, crouching down in front of the head of the former head of the paladin order. Vanysa's fingers tapped together as she rested her elbows on her thighs, so that she was eye level with the former dead woman.

Demiurge then picked up afterward, and drummed his fingers a little harder. "But... after Neia killed you, we recovered your body and preserved it, knowing we'd succeed eventually, which we did, obviously."

Vanysa giggled sweetly, in stark contrast to her appearance, and carried on with the explanation, "Now you're probably wondering 'why'. Why go to all that trouble just to save a single head? I'm a demoness, and Lord Demiurge back there is a demon, so you're probably thinking it is just to hurt you. Well..."

She suddenly darted her hands out so that they clutched Remedios's cheeks and she drew herself close, her storm gray eyes staring into Remedios's own. "You're right... sort of. We're going to give your head to the renewed Elven Kingdom as a coronation gift for Queen Zesshi, we're going to put a proximity fire enchantment on you, so that every time somebody with hostile intent comes close to where you're stationed, you will burst into flames. Your screams will surely be loud enough to alert anyone nearby of danger. A... fitting end, I think, for someone like you, don't you think?" Vanysa cackled madly for several minutes.

"Unfortunately I could not prevail upon my lord to make it a permanent existence for you. But don't worry, it won't kill you immediately either, this 'box' you are secured to also contains the means to keep your head healed and alive. You'll be like this until you've burned as long as all your victims did." Demiurge said with a kind of passive boredom, as if he no longer cared about the experiment now that it was successful.

Remedios began to try to twist and rock her head desperately away from her position. "No! No! Noooooo!" She shouted in a frenzy of denial and futile struggling as she frothed at the mouth.

The long black hair of the demoness in front of her danced wildly until the cackle of laughter finally began to fade away. "I'll box her up for shipping, Lord Demiurge, then afterward, dinner and a song?"

"That will be a pleasant evening, we can discuss how to extract mana from unwilling donors for implantation in objects." He replied with a pleasant smile on his face as he picked up a crate and tossed it over to her.

"Of course, but I still think we need a more malleable form of crystal for it to work, I mean you can't put a gallon of water in a two ounce thimble no matter how fast you pour, and a square peg won't fit in a round hole unless the hole is big enough." She replied pleasantly.

Remedios was utterly lost as the insane conversation went on, but when she felt herself being lifted and placed into a crate, she started to shriek, she was still screaming when the darkness came over her, but nobody paid even the least bit of attention.

 **AN: Thanks for reading so far, of course all good things must come to an end, and we're getting there. Thank you to those who have subscribed to my patr30n at /tellingstories to read my original work. See you at the finish line!**


	13. One Last Letter

Dearest Wife,

I hope that this letter finds you well. As I write this, I've got a burning city at my back. We made camp a few miles away from Wheaton, and believe it or not the General in command of us all even gave us one extra day of rest. I know it is winter there, but here it's spring! The Sorcerer King's magic scrolls, long held back I suppose, are now being used to give us beautiful Spring weather, and the beer reserves are being broken out.

General Baraja herself gave the order this morning after she came back, one day rest before we move on Kami Miyako. The guards are out in force along the perimeter, and some of the elf warriors are out capturing villages, I guess that's why we're halted, but the whole atmosphere of the camp is one of festival.

My mate, Jorin, he broke out his fife and started playing, next thing I know I've got an elf girl on my arm swinging me around, I promise, I just danced with her! Someone else broke out a set of war drums, and the music, oh this war has been horrible… but if war could be as festive as this day, I would wish that it never end!

I've sent along a note for eight out of every ten coins from this month's pay, enclosed is the promissory slip for you to draw it, make good use of it. Make sure you don't lose it this time, it's sealed to the back of this letter, flip this over, take it, and then use the silver for something nice for yourself after paying the household expenses.

We didn't lose many in the fighting in Wheaton, some kind of magic, it gave us all tremendous strength and power, we lost some skellies but… who cares about that? Our lives were intact and the Theocracy side is mostly wiped out. Honestly I don't remember much, some seem to, and they're bothered, but I guess I'm lucky.

It's made the elves overjoyed, we're sharing our camp with them and trading stories as much as music, they're great singers, again, I promise, looking no touching! Everyone is saying the war will be over soon, and even though I long to come home to you again, even though you're on my mind every night and every day and every time I prepare to go into the fight again… I'm glad I'm here, I'm proud of it. The elves we've freed, they tell horrible stories, the humans of the Theocracy were like the old nobles who used to rule over us before the King took over. Getting rid of that ilk will be a legacy I'm proud to pass on to our son.

Neat thing though, I actually met a vampire! Can you believe it? A real live vampire, he was shitty with his jokes, but he pulled out a violin and played it better than anyone I'd ever heard. Apparently he had a hundred and some years of practice. His sister danced to the music and broke out a little set of drums and moved over the grass like a fish through water, they were a kind of duet, you might say, great singing voices too, it was weird to be captivated by performing vampires and 'not' expect to get turned into a meal. If this is the world we're fighting for, it's worth it.

Oh! I got to meet the General's wife… she had a formation and gave out some awards to some of our bravest, I actually got to shake her hand, that one green eye of hers, so like yours, but you're twice as good because you've got both of em! No I did not flirt with her, I don't want to die just yet.

It's all so strange still, we've got elves, humans, vampires, people from Carne, the Draconic Kingdom, the Holy Kingdom, the Elf Kingdom, everywhere… all in one place, it's like living in a legend, like those stories we used to hear from the bards when we were kids, but real. What'll happen in a few days when we get to Kami Miyako, I don't even dare to dream, but I can tell you this, I dream a lot about what comes after, and coming home to you. There's a lot to do after this, and I can't wait, but no matter what, this was all worth it. And if I don't make it back for some reason, look for me in the future I helped to make, and pass that on to our son. Just be proud that I helped make it so, and make sure he understands that this wasn't for me, or even for us, but for him.

With love,

Your husband,

Sullis Avi

 _~Selected Letters of the War, p.23_

 _Sullis Avi was killed on the morning of the second day of the siege of Kami Miyako, his letter arrived at the home of his wife on the day he died. He is widely considered to be the last wartime casualty of the Sorcerer King's armies._


	14. Things Planned, Lost, & Hoped For

Memory & a Message

Written by: AtheistBasementDragon

Edited by: The Usual Gang of Drunken Perverted Idiot Elves

Chapter 14

 _...Arwintar...Last Days of the War for the New World..._

Jircniv sat in his council chamber with the other priests who ruled on religious matters around the Empire. Light shone through the skylight of the tower, but that was nothing compared to light on the many faces of those who occupied the room.

Jircniv read the report out loud and with absolute confidence, even glee. "...And so casualties have been almost nonexistent, while a few have been lost, insurrection throughout the North of the Slane Theocracy has been completely, and thoroughly suppressed. Worship of the Sorcerer King has almost entirely replaced the Six, as the rewards of the King pour in to those units which have performed well. No 'opposing priest' tends the units of the Empire any longer, as the last of them fell 'in battle'."

He set the document down, "So that takes care of that. The Empire will reap even more benefits, when we are the most loyal to His Majesty, and vote overwhelmingly in favor of his deification at the Synod. Thank you gentlemen, for all your support through this trying time."

"Gladly given." High Priest Sudon remarked, speaking for the group. "My Emperor, as I have said since my youth, the only gods worth worshipping are those that protect humanity, and as we have indisputably seen, this one does that better than all the others of the past."

There were quiet nods of assent around the table that revealed their general agreement with the sentiment. Jircniv wasn't about to dispute it, the memory came to mind of the apples of Idun that took years off of the ages of the old priests, offering vigor they had all but forgotten that they'd ever had in the first place.

"On another matter," Jircniv said, quickly changing course, "how are the preparations for the new temple?"

"They're going well." Sudon replied, "The ground was acquired and the foundation is laid, with undead labor and rotating supervisors managing the task, we'll have the largest temple to the Sorcerer King in his empire."

Jircniv folded one hand over his torso and held his side, he tilted his head down and rested the elbow of his other arm on the one he'd folded over himself, and let his fingers rub his chin in deep thought. "That will remain true for now, but... we're also among the first. Surpassing the one in Hoburns will be easy, and they don't need to expand, they are the first, their name is already etched in history and it will be a place of pilgrimage forever as the house of worship founded by the first Pope herself. Others will build in the Draconic Kingdom, in the Beastman Kingdom, in Re-Estize and the Holy Kingdom, not to mention the Elf Kingdom, the Abelion Hills, the Dark Elf Kingdom, the Understone Empire, the Dwarf Kingdom, everywhere. We must anticipate that they will attempt to surpass us."

"Sire?" Sudon asked as he began to see the Emperor's eyes blink rapidly as he entered a realm of thought, working out the problems as he saw them.

"Alright, quietly buy up the other land around where the temple is being built, but don't build on it 'yet'. Also," he turned to his finance minister, "see to it that we buy up the land around all the other planned temple sites, and do so under assumed dummy organizations or individuals. Once they've built what will 'surpass' the temple here, and finished... then we expand our own and surpass them again. If they try to match us, well by then we'll hand the ownership of that land over to our own temple here and use the property there to build temple facilities to contribute to those local communities, and even help with emigration to Baharuth. Thus, we'll retain the largest temple in the Empire for many generations."

The walls could barely contain the excitement of the occupants of the council chamber, from religious fervor to the commercial and political benefits, there was not a one who did not savor the emperor's masterful scheme to ensure his Empire's loyalty and devotion was seen as second to none.

"We are fortunate to have such a wise and sagacious ruler." Sudon said humbly and bowed his head, and he was followed by the rest of the room.

Jircniv for a moment, nearly blindly accepted the praise, but as he was about to, he pondered, 'Wait... my ruler anticipated this... didn't he? Did Sudon really mean me... or His Majesty?' He let out a mental sigh, 'Will I ever approach even the base of that mountain? No... probably not. Probably not.' He thought, and dismissed the annoyance like the fly it was rapidly becoming as he grew ever more used to, and comfortable with, the rule and the friendship of the matchless Sorcerer King.

 _...Crescent Lake..._

Bertra sat at her desk in the little office in the back of the building she'd bought. Around her were stacked numerous boxes, and more elves were walking in and out of the front door, dropping off ever more, until at last another group of elves entered, two at a time, carrying bookshelves that were either long, or tall. Tall went to the walls, long ones that were roughly chest height were lined up close to one another under Bertra's watchful eye. "Yes, fiction over there," she pointed close to the entrance, then approached and dragged her foot along the place to put the first shelf. "Then nonfiction over here." She drew her foot across the floor elsewhere where that section was to start, much further back. "Then..." Section after section was quickly laid, with the appropriate number of shelves for each section, until the workers had put in every box and put out every set of shelves and put the ladders in place for the tall bookshelves on the wall to ensure easy customer access.

When they were done, Bertra was just opening the first box to be put onto the shelves. "Thank you all very much." She said with a matronly smile, and then looked at the many boxes and gave a small frown at the huge stack.

"Tell you what," she said thoughtfully, "you have two choices, I can pay you all for your time and you can get going, or... you can help me get all this organized, and I'll let you take a few books with you as a bonus. What do you say?" She held a hand extended out to them as she asked for help, and then the other back behind her to the stacks of boxed up books they'd brought in.

Most were quick to say, "I'll just take the coin." And with a warm smile, she opened her coin purse and handed out the pay due to the various workers, who quickly left the shop to find their own way elsewhere.

But a handful, a few, grinned enormously, "Pardon me, Bertra, wasn't it? The name's Mineras, and I think I can speak for everyone still here when I say, who doesn't love a good story? We'll take the bonus, and help you with what you need."

Berenice grinned at the young man who called himself 'Mineras' and the way he greedily eyed the boxes as if ravenous for their contents like a starving man at a feast.

The others nodded in agreement as fast as their heads could move, and they set to work tearing open boxes and setting the various genres on the many various shelves.

Thanks to their copious efforts and under Bertra's close minding of the organization of the various books, the work proceeded swiftly, and she quickly found it was even more enjoyable than she expected, as she got to know the ones who stayed, and quickly dubbed them from their humor to be a drunken band of perverted idiots. When she said this, most grinned sheepishly, some struck proud poses, but one and all they embraced it as they tirelessly worked on the many books found within.

After a few hours, they collectively wiped the sweat from their brows in the most exaggerated and comedic ways that they could, and looked about with common pride and accomplishment.

"Thank you all, thank you all very, very much." Bertra said with a deep and humble bow, "I couldn't have done all this without you, and it wouldn't have been nearly as much fun, had you not been here every step of the way to get the damn place organized. Go on, snag a few books off the shelves, and I hope to see you again here, someday soon." She said as she went back to her desk and started to write.

"Our pleasure." They replied with amused and proud looks as they beheld their part in the handiwork on full display.

"If you're looking for any recommendations, I'd suggest, 'Scales of Trust' about a dragon who travels to another world where he befriends an outcast human girl. Wonderful story, and the author is not only incredibly handsome and charming, but he writes wonderfully, while also being incredibly humble as well. I'd also recommend 'Rise of God' about... well you'll see. Same author, as to the rest, I haven't read them all yet.

"Thank you," A long haired elven male replied, "but I tried the Rise of God, but didn't really care for it, it was maybe a mid tier quality work."

"Really Lute? Well, no accounting for taste." Maximus replied with a shrug and his ears twtiched with annoyance, so much so that he grabbed two copies of the book. "In case I wear one out." He said with a wink when Bertra looked at him funny.

"Alright, well whatever makes you happy, thank you both, I'll remember this for a long time to come, discounts for all of you when you come back in the future, now be off, I've got a message to mail out to a benefactor, and I'll never get that done if you all keep me here laughing at your antics all night!" She smirked and clapped her hands smartly together, and the elven laborers gave her smug, self-satisfied grins as they walked out of her store with their bonuses in hand.

 _...Camp of the Combined Army...South of Kami Miyako...Days Before the End..._

Skana sat in her tent for awhile when Neia had gone out, but she was not idle. She was sitting at the command desk, however it was not a military missive she was penning.

 _To my dearest Mother & Father,_

 _It has been a long time since I've written to you, seems like it's been almost as long as since the day I learned to read and write. I just hope that this reaches you, and that you can understand its contents. If you can, I want you to know how much my life has changed in the last few years. I met someone I truly love, not just desire. She's everything I could want, she's brave, she's bold, she's strong, she's selfless to a fault... but she's also driven. Hard to believe I of all girls could love that quality, isn't it? I am under no illusions about who I once was, there was just whimsy, woods, drinking and sex. I know how often you despaired of me ever really growing up. But how things have changed. I found a hero, someone I admire enough to not only follow into the mouth of hell... but I've changed with her, into someone who, like her, might claw our way out of hell if we found ourselves in it! I trained with the sword every day for hours on end, worked my way up the ranks, crushed elite soldiers... it cost me an eye, but I'd say it was an unfair trade in my favor, given that I took the head of the one who took my eye._

 _In a way I'm more whole than I've ever been, though I admit I'm filled with anxiety for the wellbeing of my wife, and what the future may yet hold for us as we finish our work and are forced to look back on everything it took to get us as far as we'll have gone... I'm also hopeful, optimistic for a future brighter than I ever dreamed possible when I was just leading virgin village boys into the woods for a roll in the grass. I wonder, can you roll your eyes at my usual crudity now? I admit I laugh a little as I write that, I remember how embarrassed you both got at my behavior. I've settled down, obviously, just not the way you ever imagined I would._

 _In no time at all, I'll be standing in Kami Miyako, and then it's off to Arwintar. I'm still agog at how much of the world I've seen. Remember when I was little, and I asked if the woods around us took up the whole world? Now I have only an inkling about how small we truly are, and I'm humbled by what we've done and what we plan to do. The world is such a vast place that I could never hope to see all of it, but wherever I go within it, I'll carry the same message that carried me out of the muck of the demihuman prison camps! I'm now Skana Baraja, an undefeated sword dancer and the second most dangerous woman in the army of my wife... or was, until we got Blue Rose and the Elf Queen, and I'm not too sure about some of the others, but damn it, I'm still in the top ten somewhere!_

 _However, that time will pass, I'll settle into a home, have children, and have a peaceful life to go with them. If I can avoid going to war again, if duty doesn't call me out of my house to fight once more... I think I can finally have the same happiness that you two had._

 _At least you can rest easy, knowing I'll have finally done something responsible with my life, and rest happily, knowing that I will be well and truly happy in my own right. There are lots of regrets I'll hold, some things I will never forget... but isn't that part of life? Picking our regrets as much as our happiness? I seem to recall grandfather said something like that, before he passed. He never said what his regrets were, but I'll tell you mine._

 _I regret the weakness I had when the demihumans came to our village. I regret my failure to protect Illyana or the other elves in Wenmark, especially those in the Golden Roan who trusted us... so few survived, so very few... in a way, it broke the woman I love beyond all repair, made her a monster, but that doesn't mean I love her any less, and I regret that I couldn't tell her that in the moment she most needed it, at Prart when she told me what she was doing on those walls, the moment I lost all my hatred for her, and fell in love._

 _I did... later, of course, but the agony on her face when I didn't say anything, will stay with me forever. At that moment it seemed like she thought she didn't deserve what she thought she'd finally found, and that it was going to be taken away from her... and I didn't know what to say. Better late than never, I guess, but talk about a bad moment for us both._

 _It's OK now, of course, she's sure nothing will change, and so am I. With her to the end, whatever that end may be. But... I'll never forget you, or where I came from, even if I can never go back there again. I honestly... I don't know if I'll be able to write to you again... I didn't realize this would hurt so much, even though so much of what I've said is... good, beautiful even. Please forgive me, not even for not writing again if I don't. But forgive me for making you worry, forgive me for not being a better daughter, forgive me for anything I ever said or did to wound you with my stupid youthful recklessness._

 _Rest well, knowing that wherever you are, you're wrapped in the love of your often foolish, but ever hopeful daughter,_

 _Skana Baraja_

She set the quill down beside her and stared at the paper and read over her words by the light of a nearby candle, and as she did so, tears dropped and dampened the document, smearing bits of ink here and there, before she wiped her face with a rough gesture, and then, satisfied, held the letter over the candle. It caught the flame and began to burn away. 'Please... carry my words to them in the life beyond death...' She thought.

Just then, Neia entered the tent, as the letter was released from Skana's fingertips and the last of it was carried away in smoke.

Neia saw just the flare of smoke and Skana's fingers come away, and the evidence of recent tears from Skana's one green eye, and it took her only a moment to close the distance and ask, "Is anything wrong?" as she brought her arms around her wife and drew her into an embrace.

"No, just old memories, and a message bearing them." Skana whispered into Neia's ear.

Skana felt and heard the rustle of the material from their clothing rubbing together, and saw the way their shadows blended together as they danced on the walls of the tent, cast there by different candles, it was as if they were not two, but one, bound together by darkness and contrasted against a dancing light that moved as if to music. Skana swore she could feel the heartbeat of her wife through armor and cloth and flesh, and that hers had begun to beat in sync with it. It was half a dozen breaths before she recognized that, without even knowing it, she had aligned her breathing to that of the woman she loved, just as she'd aligned her life and her fate with Neia's over the years, and neither aligning life nor breath was regretted for even an instant.

As she let herself lean gently into the arms of the powerful Black Paladin, Neia answered her with a gentle, understanding, and hopeful voice of her own. "Oh. Well, let's go make new memories tonight, and the next message that goes out that way, can speak of those instead. After all, if we can't even do that, well what's the point of all this?" Neia whispered in return, and stepped back, holding Skana's hand, she led her wife out of the tent, and into the world her father had tasked them with remaking.


	15. Final Thoughts

**Final Thoughts:**

 **Well that was fun. Hope you enjoyed the multiplicity of retrospectives here along the way, it was never meant to be a long piece, and it still ended up being the size of a novella. :D Ah well.**

 **None of this would have been possible of course, without my band of drunken perverted idiots that make up the beta readers, so thanks again you guys, couldn't resist throwing you a little shout out there at the end. Nor could I resist throwing a joke in the direction of one of my favorite critics (you know who you are Mr. Slayer) :D Even threw in a cameo of a more recent reader who has been going nonstop, and a reference to my original work 'Scales of Trust' as well as 'God Rising'. What can I say, I just can't help myself, and even if I could, I wouldn't want to.**

 **This whole project has been an amazing experience, and I want to thank everyone who has followed it, no matter how far they went, part way, or all the way. That leaves only two published and one unpublished God Rising story to wrap up, and then… well that may just be it. (Though I may still write 'A Theocracy Half Elf in King Ainz's Court' that's more of a one shot like Kingship, Cooking, & Companionship.) And there's talk on the discord of commissioning either the next 'Advent' story or the war against the Beastman Triumvirate of Empires in the center of the continent. Well we'll have to wait and see, those are both longfics in the hundreds of thousands of words.**

 **No matter what though, thanks again for reading and following,, and be sure to check out my original materials on discord (including unreleased Overlord material) and my original work, which is also available to read freely on Patr30n at /tellingstories.**


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